Mary ... Ham just cited a study that those on Medicaid have no better outcome than those who don't

[DemocratSinceBirth]

That's absurd. Medicaid pays for 45% of the live births in this nation. Would these women be better off if they delivered the babies themselves?

Medicaid pays 60% of nursing home care. Would the elderly be better off homeless ?

I have a friend in Las Vegas who is a hair stylist. She barely makes ends meet. She receives Medicaid as a result of the expansion made possible by the affordable Care Act. She has Type One Diabetes and is up to three shots a day. Her health would be at serious risk without her insulin. Medicaid keeps her alive.

Ham needs to take her shtick to FOX.

[Girard442]

1. Medicaid has no effect on the death rate.

It's one per person, no matter what.

Expect to see that as an R talking point.

[JI7]

2. those who don't include those who are able to get their care paid another way ?

Because it's misleading if that's the case.

[nikibatts]

3. Then why have any health care or health insurance at all?

[Raster]

4. The enablers of the rethuglican death panels will say ANYTHING...

...to justify their NEFARIOUS means. Anything. Of course it's absurd.

[Tanuki]

5. I'd have to know more about the study. I can recall a study comparing

VA and privately insured patients, which seemed to show some negatives about VA surgical outcomes until a closer examination indicated that the VA patients in the sample were older and had more co-morbidities than the other group. The researchers didn't consider the fact that the patients in the VA group were unable to work for various medical reasons unrelated to the variable being studied, and that was why they didn't have private insurance. Without knowing more about the study mentioned in the OP, it seems something similar might be going on.