Medicaid Expansion May Not Improve Health of Poor in U.S.

Expanding Medicaid plans for the poor won’t always improve the chronic health conditions of participants, though it may save them from financial ruin, according to a study of a pilot program in Oregon.

Lower depression rates, greater use of health care and the elimination of catastrophic medical expenses have been the primary benefits of an experimental expansion of Medicaid that began in Oregon in 2008, said researchers at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The expansion failed to reduce the chronic health issues faced by enrollees such as hypertension and high cholesterol.