Medical Assistance Programs IntroductionWelfare or public aid provides a minimum level of comfort and social support for all citizens. The Medical Assistance Program is designed to provide Illinois residents with access to quality health care. To qualify you must meet certain financial criteria, residency requirements and in most cases you must be a citizen. Another qualifying requirement is that the individual must be blind, disabled, or age 65 or older, or have children under the age of 19, or be pregnant (“Medical Assistance Programs”). Literature Review The Medical Assistance Program has generated many political camps and there is debate as to whether the government should maintain spending on programs to help the poor or take measures to reduce government spending on the budget deficit. Seven in ten (69%) say it is more important to maintain current Social Security and Medicare benefits than to reduce the underserved, while 59% prioritize maintaining current levels of spending on programs for the poor and needy rather than deficit reduction (“Debate on the deficit”, 2013). Two-thirds of Americans say the country has made no progress in reducing the budget deficit. Usually the public supports spending cuts and tax increases in order to reduce the federal budget, and most people say that the best way to reduce it is to cut some important programs and have some tax increases. The main focus should be on spending cuts and not on anything else. Feelings about budget and spending cuts are divided between Democrats and Republicans. HistoryWelfare in the United States commonly refers to federal government welfare programs that have been put in place to assist the unemployed or underemployed. Help is stretched out in the center of the paper... medical assistance. DHS. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=44574Golden, N. G. (2006). Pregnancy and maternity leave: small steps towards effective policies. Journal of Law & Family Studies, 8, 1-38 In the deficit debate, the public opposes cuts to entitlements and aid to the poor. (2013, December 19). Pew Research Center for People and Press RSS. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.people-press.org/2013/12/19/in-deficit-debate-public-resists-cuts-in-entitlements-and-aid-to-poor/Medical programs of assistance. (n.d.). DHS:. Retrieved from https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=30359Welfare Information. (2014). US welfare system. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.welfareinfo.org/Ybarra, M. (2013). Implications of paid family leave for welfare participants. National Association of Social Workers. doi: 10.1093