Two doctors who specialize in researching the death rates as they relate to changes in healthcare coverage have reached the conclusion that getting rid of Obamacare could be very fatal.
Dr. David Himmelstein and Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, who are both professors at City University of New York’s Hunter College as well as lecturers at Harvard Medical School, have each found that getting rid of Obamacare will result in roughly 43,956 deaths each year.
The doctor’s findings were based on the New England Journal of Medicine’s conclusion that for every 455 people across the United States that received healthcare through Medicaid, the life of at least one person was saved due to finally being able to afford to visit a doctor.
The New England Journal of Medicine’s study focused on people in Arizona, Maine, and New York. Each of these states increased eligibility for Medicaid by a significant amount. Researchers studied a sample of people between the ages of 20 and 64 and observed them five years before and after Medicaid programs were expanded.
In a piece published in the Washington Post, Himmelstein and Woolhandler each expressed their concerns about Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and Tom Price’s idea of repealing Obamacare without a good enough replacement.
They argue that the replacement proposed by Trump’s administration could actually cause things to become even worse. Getting rid of the minimum coverage standards would give insurers and employers the ability to cut coverage that includes reproduction related and preventative care.
All of this could lead to lower class citizens being at the mercy of the state, which has little concern for their health. Many people would be left with skimpy coverage that does not allow them to afford the care they need.
This month, the Senate passed a resolution that called for a repeal of six different parts of Obamacare. These parts included coverage for pre-existing conditions and young adults’ ability to remain on their parents’ insurance until they are 26. The House was instructed to have a repeal bill drafted and ready by January 27