A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) finds that 435 lives were saved since West Virginia expanded Medicaid in 2014. The study compares death rates of the near-elderly – those between the ages of 55 and 64 – in states that have and have not expanded Medicaid and finds that in West Virginia 87 lives per year ,or 435 lives total, have been saved in the five years following Medicaid expansion. Since West Virginia expanded Medicaid in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act the state’s uninsured rate has declined by 56 percent from 2013 to 2017. The researchers found that the reduction in mortality rates for low-income, non-elderly adults is 0.13% for states that expanded Medicaid.
