Medicaid Expansion Makes a Difference

Medicaid expansion has greatly increased health care access among low-income Americans. For proof, look no further than a series of tables recently released by the National Center for Health Statistics. The tables compare health care access in 2016 for two groups of low-income adults aged 19 to 64: those who live in Medicaid expansion states, and those who don't...

• No usual place of health care: 32 percent of low-income adults in nonexpansion states do not have a usual place of health care versus a smaller 18 percent of those in expansion states.
• Did not get needed medical care due to cost: 20 percent of low-income adults in nonexpansion states did not get needed medical care due to cost in the past 12 months. For those in expansion states, the figure was only 9 percent.
• Delayed medical care due to cost: 21 percent of low-income adults in nonexpansion states delayed medical care due to cost in the past 12 months. In nonexpansion states, just 11 percent were forced to delay care.
• Did not get needed prescription medicine due to cost: 18 percent of low-income adults in nonexpansion states needed but could not afford prescription medicine in the past 12 months. The figure was just 10 percent in expansion states. 

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Access and Utilization by Medicaid expansion status for low-income adults aged 19 to 64: Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, United States 2016