Medicaid expansion will save lives

We know that Gov. Mike Pence has refused to expand the Medicaid program to include approximately 400,000 Hoosiers. The expansion would cost this state almost nothing. In fact, we would pay $2 billion, but receive between $14.3 and $26.4 billion from the federal government and insure all of those Indiana residents.

You have probably heard the arguments, but a new study from Harvard and the City University of New York has added horrifying information. Sam Dickman and others, writing in the Health Affairs Blog, predict that between 240 and 758 Indiana citizens will die because Governor Pence has decided to opt out of the Medicaid expansion.

What will cause their deaths? These people will not receive screenings, tests or treatments that they presently cannot afford, and that neglect will lead to their death. That is also not just some abstract number. This could be you or someone you know whose death could be prevented if the governor simply opted-in a free program.

Perhaps someone could explain how this outrageous behavior fits into some kind of plan to serve the common good. I cannot understand it. Stuart Swenson

Dyer