The White House released a
new report from the Council of Economic Advisors on Wednesday, detailing the healthcare and economic impact of refusing to accept Medicaid expansion, as 24 states have. Bottom line, it's 5.7 million people who would qualify for Medicaid, but be uninsured by 2016, "and these states will forgo billions in federal dollars that could boost their economies."
Much of what's included in this report has been hashed out in others. If these states took the expansion: "an additional 1.4 million people would have a usual source of clinic care once expanded coverage was fully in effect"; "an additional 651,000 people would receive "all needed care" over a given year once expanded coverage was fully in effect"; "255,000 fewer people would face catastrophic medical costs each year once expanded coverage was fully in effect"; "810,000 fewer people will have trouble paying other bills due to the burden of medical costs."
But there's another part of the story that Think Progress picks up: the refusal to expand Medicaid has a hugely disproportionate effect on women.
That’s because women make up nearly 70 percent of adults on Medicaid and the report finds that limiting their access to coverage significantly restricts their access to health care. Relying on past health research, the analysis concludes that “having health insurance increases the probability that individuals report receiving ‘all needed care’ over the prior year.” “If the 24 States that have not yet expanded Medicaid did so, an additional 651,000 people would receive ‘all needed care’ over a given year once expanded coverage was fully in effect,” it says.
An additional “214,000 women between the ages of 50 and 64 would receive mammograms” and “345,000 women would receive pap smears once expanded coverage was fully in effect.”
It's a two-fer for Republicans, a war on the poors and a war on women all in one. What they lack in compassion or a moral compass, they make up for in efficiency.