Medicaid expansion good for all
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
2 of 3 free articles.
Editor,
Today I hope to shed some important light on the Medicaid Expansion. As a mother of a son with heart disease, insurance and healthcare has become a vast part of our life. Medicaid provides comprehensive medical care and nursing home and long-term care services to low-income children, the elderly, and people of all ages with disabilities. As an advocate volunteer with AHA I was shocked to hear that, of the more than 41 million uninsured adults in 2010, more than half (52 percent) would be eligible for Medicaid coverage under the expansion because they have incomes under 138 percent of poverty. Most of these uninsured are working adults in low-wage jobs who either aren’t offered employer coverage or cannot afford their share of the cost. Medicaid provides important benefits to patients with heart disease and stroke, compared to being uninsured.
According to the only randomized, controlled trial comparing the effect of Medicaid to being uninsured, having Medicaid coverage increased individuals’ access to outpatient care, prescription drugs, and hospital care. For instance, Medicaid beneficiaries with heart disease are twice as likely to take their medication appropriately, and have their blood pressure controlled compared to those who are uninsured.
If Montana doesn’t expand its Medicaid eligibility, the very poorest and most vulnerable will likely remain uninsured. Expanding Medicaid is not just beneficial to patients with chronic disease; it’s also a good deal for states, health care providers, consumers, and employers. The federal government will cover at least 90 percent of the costs. Much of a state’s costs for expanding Medicaid will be offset by reducing state and local spending for hospital care for the uninsured. In 2008, state and local governments picked up $10.6 billion, or nearly 20 percent, of the cost of caring for uninsured people in hospitals, according to the Urban Institute.
Legislators please do the right thing this voting year and approve this needed program for the most at-risk members of our communities. I urge you to visit www.yourethecure.com click on “Action Center.” There you can contact our government leaders about Medicaid Expansion and many other topics this voting season.
Bobbie Cross
St. Ignatius
