The Republican War On Health Care

A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released today shows that Medicaid expansion -- a key feature of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or "Obamacare" opposed by Rethuglican governors and politicians -- has had a significant positive effect on accessibility to and satisfaction with health care for low-income people in the 31 states where Medicaid's been expanded. Nineteen states, towing the Rethuglican / Trumpist Party line, have rejected Medicaid expansion for low-income and poor families, where their health care needs are not being met. From the report's highlights:

"According to the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), an estimated 5.6 million uninsured, low-income adults—those ages 19 through 64—had incomes at or below the income threshold for expanded Medicaid eligibility as allowed under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Estimates from this nationally representative survey showed that about 1.9 million of the 5.6 million uninsured, low-income adults lived in states that chose to expand Medicaid under PPACA, while the remaining 3.7 million lived in non-expansion states—those that did not choose to expand Medicaid. [snip] 

The 2016 NHIS estimates showed that low-income adults in expansion states were less likely to report having any unmet medical needs compared with those in non-expansion states, and low-income adults who were insured were less likely to report having unmet medical needs compared with those who were uninsured. Among the low-income adults who were uninsured, those in expansion states were less likely to report having any unmet medical needs compared with those in non-expansion states. [snip]

The 2016 NHIS estimates also showed that low-income adults in expansion states were less likely to report financial barriers to needed medical care and other types of health care, such as specialty care, compared with those in non-expansion states..." (our emphasis)

Health care costs and accessibility rank at the top of bread-and-butter issues for the mid-term elections, and Dems need to hammer home what Rethugs have done to sabotage health insurance through Medicaid for working and low-income families dependent on assistance.