It's an obvious conclusion that, in the United States, having health insurance of some kind is a prerequisite for getting regular health care, but it's a point that has to keep being made over and over and over again. So there's another report that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) forced the Trump administration to do, finding that in states that did not expand Medicaid, low-income people are much more likely to forgo getting medical care than in the states that have expanded.
The Governmental Accountability Office and the National Center for Health Statistics worked together on the report, finding that nearly 20 percent of low-income people in the non-expansion states say they did not seek needed medical care in the past 12 months because they couldn't pay for it, compared to 9.4 percent in expansion states. In addition, 8 percent of people in non-expansion states said they either skipped prescription medication doses or took less than prescribed to stretch it out, compared to 5 percent in expansion states. For people with chronic conditions—asthma, diabetes, heart disease—that's potentially dangerous. More people in non-expansion states reported not being able get the dental care they needed; 11 percent compared to about 6 percent in expansion states.
Wyden explains why this matters right now. "States around the country have an opportunity to expand Medicaid to more people; these findings help show why it's a winning proposition for states and the millions of Americans currently left out," he said. It also happens to be relevant to the midterm elections this year. Medicaid expansion is directly on the ballot in Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah where voters are taking matters into their own hands since their elected officials won't do it, and in Montana where voters will decide on keeping that state’s expansion. The issue is also prominent in gubernatorial races in states that haven't expanded: Florida, Georgia, and Wisconsin.
It's important particularly in those states, but in the races for Congress, as well. The administration is intent on gutting Medicaid, and has had a GOP majority that's been anxious to help. We need a Democratic Congress as an ally in the fight to keep the program running as intended throughout the country.
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