Fewer Infants Died In States That Allowed Affordable Care Act

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Fewer Infants Died In States That Allowed Affordable Care Act
Kat McCue   JANUARY 29, 2018

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Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the newly released study found that between 2010 and 2016 fewer babies died in states that accepted the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act than in states that did not expand their program.

Moreover, during the implementation of the Affordable Care Act from 2014 to 2016, average infant mortality rates rose in states that had not expanded Medicaid coverage.

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From the paper (doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.304218):

Medicaid Expansion and Infant Mortality in the United States
Chintan B. Bhatt, MBBS, MPH, and Consuelo M. Beck-Sagué, MD

Objectives.
To explore the effect of Medicaid expansion on US infant mortality rate.
Methods. We examined data from 2010 to 2016 and 2014 to 2016 to compare infant
mortality rates in states and Washington, DC, that accepted the Affordable Care Act
Medicaid expansion (Medicaid expansion states) and states that did not (non–Medicaid
expansion states), stratifying data by race/ethnicity.

Results.
Mean infant mortality rate in non–Medicaid expansion states rose (6.4 to 6.5)
from 2014 to 2016 but declined in Medicaid expansion states (5.9 to 5.6). Mean difference
in infant mortality rate in Medicaid expansion versus non–Medicaid expansion
states increased from 0.573 (P = .08) in 2014 to 0.838 in 2016 (P = .006) because of
smaller declines in non–Medicaid expansion (11.0%) than in Medicaid expansion (15.2%)
states. The 14.5% infant mortality rate decline from 11.7 to 10.0 in African American
infants in Medicaid expansion states was more than twice that in non–Medicaid expansion
states (6.6%: 12.2 to 11.4; P = .012).

Conclusions.
Infant mortality rate decline was greater in Medicaid expansion states, with
greater declines among African American infants. Future research should explore what
aspects of Medicaid expansion may improve infant survival. (Am J Public Health. Published
online ahead of print January 18, 2018: e1–e3. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.304218)

[massadvj]

Yes, but more people died of heart attacks upon receiving their medical bills.