Thread by @irishrygirl

Here are some useful facts about the importance of Medicaid, cutting $800 million and adding more work requirements will be catastrophic to the 1 in 5 Americans that receive Medicaid benefits.

Medicaid is a key source of coverage for certain populations. In 2023, Medicaid covered nearly 4 in 10 children, over 8 in 10 children in poverty, 1 in 6 adults, and almost half of adults in poverty.

Relative to White children and adults, Medicaid covers a higher share of Black, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) children and adults.

Medicaid covers more than 1 in 4 adults ages 19-64 with disabilities, who are defined as having one or more difficulty related to hearing, vision, cognition, ambulation, self-care, or independent living

Medicaid provides coverage for several special populations.  For example, Medicaid covers 41% of all births in the United States, 50% of children with special health care needs.

5 in 8 nursing home residents, 29% of non-elderly adults with any mental illness, and 40% of non-elderly adults with HIV.

Medicaid pays Medicare premiums and often provides wraparound coverage for services not covered by Medicare (like most long-term care) for nearly 1 in 5 Medicare beneficiaries (13 million).

Medicaid is a key source of coverage for individuals experiencing homelessness and those transitioning out of carceral settings, particularly in states that have adopted the Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid law, all states elect to cover optional benefits including prescription drugs and home care. Home care, also known as home or HCBS, is long-term care provided in non-institutional settings including homes, day care centers, and assisted living facilities.

Other long-term care is provided in institutions such as nursing facilities. Medicaid is the primary payer for long-term care in the United States, covering 61% of total spending. Beyond long-term care,

Medicaid provides other benefits not usually covered by health insurance including non-emergency medical transportation, which helps enrollees get to appointments, and comprehensive benefits for children, known as Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) services.

A large body of research shows that Medicaid beneficiaries have substantially better access to care than people who are uninsured (who are also primarily low-income) and are less likely to postpone or go without needed care due to cost.

Longstanding research shows that Medicaid eligibility during childhood is associated with positive effects on health (including reduced avoidable hospitalizations and mortality) and impacts beyond health, such as improved long-run educational attainment.

Medicaid expansions to low-income adults are associated with increased access to care, increased economic security, improved self-reported health status, and other outcomes including increased early-stage cancer diagnosis rates, lower mortality rates for certain conditions

and improved outcomes related to substance use disorders.

Research conducted by NBER(National Bureau of Economic Research) suggests that the ACA Medicaid expansion had impacts beyond health care use, including on consumer financial outcomes – reducing unpaid bills and medical debt sent to collections.

If people lose their Medicaid benefits, rural hospitals will close, ERs will get overwhelmed with patients and bad debt. Veterans, seniors, students, active military members depend on Medicaid. Addiction will rise, preventable deaths will increase.

Republicans are selling out their constituents so their wealthy donors can write off their private jets. @TheDemCoalition @HouseDemocrats @DNC

Any provider or person like Senator Rick Scott that commits insurance fraud, should absolutely face federal charges. But don’t punish the millions of people just trying to get by the best that they can.

@threadreaderapp please unroll