The Illinois General Assembly opted to expand Medicaid through Obamacare in May 2013. This expansion created a new Medicaid category for able-bodied adults ages 19-64 with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

But the Medicaid program was designed to serve the truly vulnerable – the aged, the blind and the disabled – and expansion critics have long warned that creating a new welfare class would prioritize able-bodied adults and put more vulnerable people at risk by redirecting limited resources. Now, newly obtained data from the Illinois Department of Human Services, or DHS, confirm these fears.

According to documents provided by the department, 752 Illinoisans on the state’s Medicaid waiting list have died awaiting needed care since the General Assembly voted to accept the Obamacare expansion for able-bodied adults. That’s 18 deaths each month, on average, since the expansion was authorized. Continue reading →