Failing our citizens

It’s ludicrous to say, as did John Tidwell (Point of View, Jan. 6), that we should not offer something because too many people will use it. Our failure to expand Medicaid has resulted in the continued hollowingout of communities throughout the state.

Access to health care is one of the most important aspects of civic life. Lack of access is a disincentive to industries that may be looking for a new site outside a major metropolitan area. They know new families will not be attracted to an area without a hospital. Our failure to expand Medicaid has led to the closing of hospitals all over Oklahoma, resulting in doctors and nurses leaving the community. Local people lose their jobs. People who need regular medical care are incentivized to relocate to a major metropolitan area.

Because we failed to expand Medicaid, senior care facilities in many communities have failed or are failing. If the nursing home closes, local people lose their jobs. Residents must drive farther to visit loved ones in the nursing home.

Because we failed to expand Medicaid, thousands of Oklahomans don’t have regular access to health care. When they become seriously ill, they visit emergency rooms and require more extensive (and expensive) care than would otherwise have been the case. Because we failed to expand Medicaid, thousands of Oklahomans do not receive regular medical advice about diet, obesity and exercise. Those things contribute to our poor health outcomes.

Because we failed to expand Medicaid, we failed our citizens.

Ed Pitts, Edmond