27,000 May Die in 2014 Because Republican Governors, Lawmakers Refuse to Expand Medicaid
A majority of Republican governors and state legislators, driven by relentless political opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), have rejected billions in federal funding, denied millions needed health care and consigned thousands to premature death by refusing to extend Medicaid to their own residents.
Governors and lawmakers in 25 states who rebuff federal support to expand state Medicaid programs to 4.8 million low-income people under the ACA are sacrificing thousands of lives and pushing away enormous economic development opportunities that come with $426 billion in direct funding over 10 years, according to a new report by Health Care for America Now.
Research at the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that the refusal of federal Medicaid funds may result in the deaths of 27,452 Americans in 2014 as those states ensure that mortality rates for low-income adults remain at a significantly higher level, according to the report. Residents of states rejecting Medicaid expansion face a declining quality of life with less economic opportunity and destabilized hospitals -- including some that will be forced to close.
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