We have mentioned this report previously, but it is critical Ohioans understand that expanding Medicaid is unlikely to yield the positive health outcomes promoted by most advocates. A new study from the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) further validates concerns raised by the Buckeye Institute and others regarding the long-term health benefits that accrue to those on Medicaid.

The NEJM study is a randomized and controlled study looking at the health outcomes of those in Oregon who obtained Medicaid coverage through a 2008 expansion to those that were eligible for Medicaid but placed on a waiting list. In other words, it was a direct comparison of those enrolled in Medicaid vs. those without coverage. The conclusion? From the study, “This randomized, controlled study showed that Medicaid coverage generated no significant improvements in measured physical health outcomes in the first 2 years….”

As those following the ongoing saga of Medicaid expansion in Ohio know all too well, one of the arguments used by expansion advocates is that by offering health coverage through Medicaid to those that currently have no insurance at all, we will be able to facilitate better health care outcomes. The NEJM study undercuts this argument. Of course, it is not the only one that does so.

The Buckeye Institute cited a major study by the University of Virginia (UVA) in our 2010 Crushing Weight report. The UVA study was one of the largest studies of its kind and looked at nearly 900,000 major operations across the US to compare surgical outcomes of those covered under Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance to those with no coverage whatsoever.

It found that, “…surgical patients on Medicaid were 13 percent more likely to die in the hospital than uninsured individuals, controlling for demographic factors and health status.”

The report included data from across the nation including Ohio. It accounted for various health conditions across the populations.

Ohio does not have to make expanding a Medicaid program that studies show not to provide positive health outcomes. Ohio can tailor any number of state-based programs to deal with very real challenges in providing coverage to the proposed expansion population.

Let’s have that debate and base it on ALL the facts.