08-25-2018, 03:32 PM
Another instance where ideology has taken over as the states where Medicaid has been expanded as a result of Obamacare have shown very good results
And that's 2.2M people denied access to healthcare just for ideological reasons, as the facts show that giving them access to healthcare produces multiple benefits in terms of health (early interventions and preventive care), finances (less medical debts), combatting the opioid crisis, and reducing the number of preventable deaths.
Quote:The dramatic slope of the uninsured rate tells the story. For the people eligible for expanded Medicaid — 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or $21,000 for a family of three, and below — the uninsured fell by more than half, from 32.4 percent before Medicaid expansion to 12.8 percent. Medicaid expansion covers people in a population where the rate of uninsurance is exponentially higher than it is for people who make more money. That much is clear. Before Obamacare, one in three people in or near poverty were uninsured in Ohio. After Obamacare, that’s dropped to one in eight...The success of Medicaid expansion, explained in 5 charts - Vox
Another key finding: People continuously covered by Medicaid were substantially less likely to have medical debt than eligible people who were still uninsured or people who churned on and off of Medicaid. That aligns with prior studies published in Health Affairs and elsewhere. If the purpose of Medicaid is to provide people with health care and a certain level of basic economic security, it seems to be succeeding.
Ohio is one of the states hardest hit by the opioid crisis — more than 4,000 Ohioans died of opioid overdoses in 2016 — and Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, has defended Medicaid expansion in part because of how it helps poorer residents struggling with opioid addiction access treatment. The numbers bear that out: Rates of Medicaid expansion enrollees with opioid use disorders receiving medication-assisted treatment and mental health counseling in tandem have risen steadily over the past few years.
Remember: 17 states have still refused to expand Medicaid in Obamacare’s fifth year, leaving an estimated 2.2 million people uninsured because they can’t get the coverage the law intended them to have.
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And that's 2.2M people denied access to healthcare just for ideological reasons, as the facts show that giving them access to healthcare produces multiple benefits in terms of health (early interventions and preventive care), finances (less medical debts), combatting the opioid crisis, and reducing the number of preventable deaths.