Medicaid's flaws imperil the poor

Children are dying of preventable diseases again in our cities, afew short years after public health professionals bragged aboutvirtually wiping them out. In Chicago alone, nine children died ofmeasles last year.

And many of the doctors who used to treat poor children andtheir families are turning them away.

These two findings, part of a report that is on its way toCongress, are obviously related.

What is not so obvious is why the 27 million poor people in thiscountry who depend on Medicaid are finding it harder to obtainroutine preventive care.

Part of the answer is supplied by the U.S. Physician PaymentReview Commission, which recently …