By Dr. Randal Christensen

The current Medicaid debate happening in Washington is hitting close to home in Nevada. After upgrading our health insurance program for low-income people in 2012, we saw the nation’s largest drop in uninsured children, and patients’ access to care transformed for the better. We cannot afford the deep cuts that some in Congress favor.

Providers are extremely concerned about what a reversal on Medicaid could mean here. Everyone deserves access to affordable, quality medical and dental care. Low-income, minority, and rural Nevadans, however, have consistently struggled to obtain it.

Community health clinics, medical centers, and individual physicians strive to provide low-cost and charitable services to alleviate the problem, but these efforts alone were never enough. Without a robust Medicaid program, too many will once again fall through the cracks.

The damage done to today’s children would haunt our state for decades. Kids who do not receive adequate medical and dental care suffer a lifetime of disadvantages. They are more likely to contract chronic disease, become disabled, and be in poor health as adults. Trailing academic performance leads to lower high school graduation rates among kids without health insurance, and they go on to earn less in their careers and pay less in taxes.

Medicaid is truly an investment in the future, one very much worth our ongoing support.

The best outcomes for children come when the entire family has receives health care. That was one of the most exciting developments in the wake of our Medicaid improvements. More than 200,000 adults in working families gained coverage and have the opportunity to take better care of themselves today.

Healthy adults are more able to retain stable employment and can be more actively engaged in guiding their children’s development. If there are substance abuse or mental health issues, the new Medicaid coverage for treatment can help address them, so kids can live in more secure, supportive homes.

These factors should be enough reason to preserve Medicaid, but there are more. Research published in the journal Health Affairs has shown that states upgrading Medicaid are seeing better access to primary care, lower out-of-pocket costs for patients, improvements in chronic disease management, and more people reporting themselves to be in “excellent” health.

Wellness is intrinsically linked to so many beneficial outcomes. Nevada is fostering a more capable workforce, which will boost our economy. We’re saving the health care system money, as preventative care, wellness programs, and treatment for chronic disease reduce expensive emergency room and hospital care. And our provider networks, especially safety net hospitals in rural and underserved areas, are stronger and more likely to keep their doors open than they were a few short years ago.

Dr. Christensen is the chief medical officer of Nevada Health Centers, the largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Nevada.  He graduated in 1990 from the University of Arizona with a BA in Sociology, and earned both his MD and his MPH degrees from Tufts University School of
Medicine in 1995. He is the author of the book, "Ask Me Why I
Hurt: The Kids Nobody Wants and the Doctor Who Heals Them."