Sociology

Programs are instituted essentially to address specific societal problems. They therefore aim at achieving certain goals that transcend the societal sphere. Programs are larger than projects as they combine different projects that result in the attainment of a common goal. This paper seeks to analyze an Aging and Adults Services Medicaid program to find out if its design meets specific program evaluation standards.
An Overview of the Medicaid Program
    The goal for Medicaid Program is to provide payment for some medical costs for certain individuals who are older, have low income and limited assets or are disabled. The program is institutionalized by the State Department of Health. The eligibility conditions for participating in this program as recipients are that one should be a permanent resident of United States applicants may be persons receiving Supplemental Security Income they may be receiving temporary financial services under the Family Employment Program are over sixty five years of age are blind or physically disabled or are below eighteen years old.
    It further states the enrollment procedure where one has too fill an application form as well as attend an interview and provide documents related to proof of age and citizenship, trusts, income, liquid assets and medical expenses. The applicant then receives a brochure detailing their rights and responsibilities and awaits notification of qualification after a period of 30days or 90 days if disabled. A denial notice is issued to those who do not qualify stating the reason for denial. This section further provides detailed information on third party liability, the selection of a health care provider, requirements for coordinating Medicare benefits with Medicaid.
    Financial eligibility requirements for this program include asset standards, income standards, spend down obligation and buy out. Finally, the benefits accruing from this program include the extent of coverage of the program, mandatory services available to all Medicaid recipients such as inpatient and out patient hospital services, family planning services, physician services as well as optional services.
    Program evaluation is necessary in institutions and organizations as it assesses the viability of the program in terms of its usefulness to constituents. It refers to a process of collecting information carefully on or about a program so as to make important decisions about it. Mohammad (1999) recognizes it as a systematic appraisal of the operations and outcomes of a program compared to implicit or explicit values as a means of contributing to the improvement of a program or project. At a glance, it may be looked at as a wastage of time and resources that could otherwise be diverted for other uses. However, it is important to note that program evaluation is necessary at all stages of a program from conceptualization to final implementation and continuation of the program. Program evaluation may take several approaches from needs assessment, cost benefit analysis, goal based, process based to outcomes. The choice of a specific approach depends on what is essential to the individual or group.
    The key considerations for any evaluation process as discussed by Mohammad (1999) include the purpose of the evaluation, recipients for the evaluation results, a deep insight of the program or its constituent that is the focal point for evaluation, sources of  information and mechanisms to institute to collect the information.
  In order to evaluate the Medicaid program effectively, the process based approach is adapted. Process-based evaluations are intended to help organizations understand the processes required in implementing a program. This kind of evaluation determines how a program produces the outcomes that it does. Process evaluations are most useful in analyzing the efficiency of processes in long-standing programs.
 To obtain a thorough insight of this evaluation process the following questions are answered using information from the program
What forms the basis of the need for products or services provided by the program
    The main basis of the need to provide the Medicaid service lies in its initial goal. The Medicaid program is committed to availing a wide range of relevant information to beneficiaries to ensure that they make informed decisions on health insurance. The target population for this program is old aged individuals with low incomes, limited assets or disabled persons. This target population is mainly composed of vulnerable persons.
What are the contents of the program
This program describes extensively the eligibility of beneficiaries which includes but is not limited to the old as well as individuals with financial needs the enrollment procedure which includes the application procedure, third party liability, the selection of a healthcare provider, coordinating efforts between Medicare and Medicaid benefits requirements on financial eligibility and the benefits accruing from this program.
How are customers incorporated into the program
    Customers are required to fill up application forms obtained from the Bureau of Eligibility Services offices. The information in these forms needs to be backed by necessary proofs. They then go through an interview where they are asked to provide documents of trusts, assets accruing to them other than their homesteads, age and citizenship, health and life insurance policies, their income, medical expenses they have incurred for example, health insurance premiums. The applicants then receive brochures explaining their rights and responsibilities notice of approval or denial is then sent to the applicant within thirty days or ninety days for the case of the disabled.
What are the qualifications of clients to the program
For clients or customers to qualify for such a program, they should be citizens or permanent inhabitants of the United States. Be persons presently receiving Supplemental Security Income, (SSI) that is are elderly, blind andor disabled. Be persons currently receiving provisional financial services under the Family Employment Program, (FEP).Are residing in a skilled nursing facility, are under eighteen years or are adults caring for children below eighteen years.
What are the benefits of the program to the recipients
Medicaid covers the expenses of most medically necessary services. It can allow health insurance premiums as a deduction and pay the Medicare premium. In addition, medically essential services for children are covered. For qualified individuals, Medicaid covers medical bills even when the services were provided before an application was submitted to Medicaid. It is therefore retrospective in nature.
Once in the program, recipients are legible for mandatory services such  asInpatient and Outpatient hospital services, laboratory and X-ray services, skilled Nursing Facility care for adults, home health care services, physician related services, rural health clinic services, family planning services amongst others. Optional Services such as clinic services, hearing aids, artificial limbs, personal care, hospice care, cost of Medicare premiums, and transport to medical services, dental care, eyeglasses, and vision screening are provided at the discretion of the state.
On what basis do employees decide that the service is no longer needed
The service may be terminated on grounds of little or no impact even after substantial years of service provision. Secondly, if the intended goal of the program is achieved, the program can be successfully withdrawn. As for the case of the Medicaid Program, the recipients are from different backgrounds with diverse needs that require complex solutions. Stopping the program would therefore result in further deepening the problems of these individuals.
To summarize the above, program evaluation, when conducted regularly, can improve to a great extent the management and efficacy of organizations and its programs. To do so requires a proper understanding of the differences between monitoring and evaluation, making evaluation a central component of regular program development and implementation, and collecting a wide range of information needed by managers at functional levels of the organization. The process incorporates specific procedures that fabricate desired outcomes to ensure that specific targets are met. It also ensures that relevant stakeholders obtain viable information of the status quo of the running program so as to brainstorm on ways of improving service delivery at low costs.
The driving force for the continuation of this program is first, to increase the number of beneficiaries of the program and secondly, to ensure that provision of services is efficient. For this to take place effectively, the program should be flexible to meet diverse requirements of the ever increasing populations of people with similar and recognizable needs and take into consideration the employment of competent personnel to foresee the efficiency of service delivery.