Liberal Group Screams “Murder” over Medicaid Expansion

This week, John Micek called out Keystone Progress on his Pennlive.com blog for what he termed a “disgusting” email that “has no place in our discourse.” What provoked this unequivocal condemnation? The liberal advocacy group Keystone Progress (funded in part by government union dues) issued an email claiming Governor Corbett is killing four Pennsylvanians every day.

The murder weapon? His refusal to expand Medicaid, a state program that’s already failing vulnerable Pennsylvanians.

Micek rightly calls foul on such extreme rhetoric—but it doesn’t stop at mere words. Keystone Progress has launched an activism website with the less-than-subtle name www.TomCorbettKilled4PeopleToday.com.

The site is keeping a running tally of the “killings”—180 as of today—for which they say Corbett bears responsibility.

The study that Keystone Progress claims supports this finding is shoddy to say the least. It exaggerates the mortality claims from other questionable studies, and ignores studies showing that Medicaid expansion doesn’t improve health care outcomes.

Chris Conover’s piece at Forbes provides a thorough debunking of the claims.

We need to reform, not expand, Medicaid to help Pennsylvanians. Medicaid provides limited access to health care services with no proof of improved health care outcomes.

If Keystone Progress is truly concerned about the poor, and not just with smearing the governor for partisan gain, they should be seeking ways to encourage preventative care or pushing to expand provider choice for Medicaid patients.

These reforms have demonstrably improved patient outcomes and don’t require Pennsylvania to depend on funding promises that Washington can’t keep.