How many lives could be saved if Medicaid was expanded everywhere?

Daily Kos Staff

Tuesday May 06, 2014 · 10:20 AM PDT

2014/05/06 · 10:20

What if, just what if, all of the states embraced health insurance reform like Massachusetts did? What if you take the 3 precent mortality reduction researchers have found in Massachusetts, and apply that to the states that have refused to take Medicaid expansion money under Obamacare. How many lives could be saved? Here's one estimate, based on coverage information from the Kaiser Family Foundation: more than 5,700 by 2018.

Map and chart showing preventable deaths by 2018 if 26 states rejecting Medicaid changed course.

That's 1,261 premature deaths in Texas that could be avoided, and 920 in Florida, the two states with the highest uninsured populations in the country, the states with the most to gain by expanding Medicaid.

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How many lives could be saved if Medicaid was expanded everywhere?

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