• 35% increased likelihood Medicaid users would go to a doctor
• 15% increased likelihood they would use prescription drugs
• 30% increased likelihood they would get admitted to the hospital source

• » A new study with broad ramifications: The results of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s study may seem obvious, but the debate on whether or not to cut funding for Medicaid has long rested on whether experts thought low-income people would actually use the public form of medical insurance. The new study proves this is the case, and does it in an interesting way — rather than comparing the insured to the uninsured (a common tactic used before), the study treated Medicaid the same way researchers might treat a drug. The result? Fellow researchers are hailing the study as “historic” and say it’ll shape national health care debates for years to come.

Posted by Justin Jones • Permalink