Experts hopeful Medicaid expansion closes life expectancy gap

Where you live determines many outcomes in your life, including how long you live.

New data from the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute’s County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) program shows life expectancy rates in the state vary – from 70.6 years in Swain County to 82.1 years in Orange County.

The average person in Wake County lives to 81.6 years old compared to Robeson County’s 71.1 years, the data shows.

In fact, people in certain areas in the triangle like Orange, Wake, Chatham and Durham counties are among those who live the longest in the state. The top 10 counties in North Carolina have an average life expectancy over 80 years old. Above the state’s average of 77 and much higher than the counties with the lowest where the average is just older than 72.

Many of the counties where residents are living the longest are among those with the highest median income and lowest percentage of people who are uninsured.

Laura Harker, a health policy expert with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, says that intersection isn’t surprising.

“Higher health coverage rates are tied to better outcomes,” Harker said. “We just see that when people do have health coverage, they're more likely to seek care.

“Some people without health insurance may delay care, or they may end up going to the emergency room, which is usually when the condition is really, really bad off.

That’s why Harker feels expanding Medicaid could be particularly beneficial to people in these areas and could close the gap – not only on life expectancy but also related to median income and economic output.

“People need to be healthy in order to be productive, and to be able to work,” Harker said.

Harker said Medicaid expansion has also been linked to reducing medical debt and providing this coverage can help states respond to a variety of issues like the maternal and mental health crises.