Obamacare repeal means thousands of avoidable deaths

Columnist Dan Walters noted in a recent column on Obamacare repeal (Dec. 7) that Medi-Cal enrollment in California grew by 5.9 million people since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. In Tulare County, where Medi-Cal enrollment is highest in the state, that works out to around 110,000 people.

A 2014 Harvard University study of health-care reform in Massachusetts found there was one fewer death per year for every 830 adults gaining insurance coverage. Applying this ratio to California suggests as many as 7,100 fewer deaths occur in the state each year due to Obamacare. In Tulare County, that works out to around 130 fewer deaths each year.

Were Obamacare to disappear, as Rep. Kevin McCarthy suggests, California would likely face a corresponding rise in annual mortality, as thousands of people across the state succumbed to preventable or treatable causes of death.

An ordinary person whose actions led to so many avoidable deaths would be liable to face charges of criminally negligent homicide. But these days, it seems that for too many members of Congress, such indifference to the potential consequences of one’s actions is just part of the partisan victory celebration.

This story was originally published December 17, 2016 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Obamacare repeal means thousands of avoidable deaths."