From The Epidemiologist
A recent study found that, since 2010, Medicaid expansion has reduced the mortality of the low-income adult population by 2.5%. In other words, Medicaid expansion saved more than 27,000 lives. Deaths fell not only among older enrollees (who are usually most sick) but also among those in their 20s and 30s, too. The study also found that Medicaid expansions were cost-effective.
Congress is debating a bill to cut Medicaid—even though 80% of Americans oppose such cuts. If passed, an estimated 8.6 million people could lose healthcare coverage by 2034 (out of the 71.2 million people with Medicaid). This would be the largest Medicaid cut in history. (Note: it has just passed through the House Budget Committee)
The impact of this bill will depend on where you live. KFF outlined a few key factors:
- State budgets: Each state will respond differently to the loss of federal funds. For instance, states that expanded Medicaid to cover long-term care may see that as an area to cut first.
- Population needs: States with higher rates of unemployment or poorer overall health will be hit harder.
- Access to care: The more limited the healthcare infrastructure in a state, the more damaging the cuts could be.
States like West Virginia and Mississippi are likely among the hardest hit. Below is a breakdown of the most affected states, depending on what factors we take into account.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation; Annotated by Your Local Epidemiologist
What does this mean for you? Time to reach out to your representatives. Here are some tips. Dr. Emily Smith has a great Medicaid explainer if you want more information.
Note that Medicaid programs go by different names in each state, making it tricky to track how federal changes might affect your health care. For example, “cutting Medicaid” is the same as “cutting PeachCare” in Georgia or “cutting Healthy Connections” in South Carolina. Hover over the graph below to see what Medicaid is called in your state.
Medicaid programs go by different names in different states.
Hover over your state to find the name of your Medicaid program
