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Those on Medicaid have worse health

WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- U.S. adults who are on Medicaid have significantly worse health than those covered by an employer or union, a survey indicates.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index of about 28,000 U.S. adults conducted Jan. 3 to March 1 found more than 3-in-10 adults on Medicaid were obese, 22 percent were being treated for depression, and 24 percent were being treated for high blood pressure.

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The survey also found Medicaid recipients struggled disproportionately with asthma and diabetes.

Due to the nature of what allows an individual to receive Medicaid -- they must be low income or disabled -- it was not particularly surprising this group was in such relatively poor health because research has long-shown the link between poverty and poor health, Gallup said.

During the Jan. 3 to March 1 timeframe, Gallup estimated 4.5 percent of Americans age 18 and older had Medicaid as their primary source of health insurance, while 18 percent mainly relied on Medicare, 3.6 percent were on a military or veteran plan and 44.5 percent on an employer-provided plan. Another 11 percent said they have some other source of health insurance and 17 percent had no health insurance.

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Thirty-six percent of adults whose primary health insurance source was Medicaid said they smoked.

Overall, the survey's margin of error was 1 percentage point, but for the Medicaid section, the margin of error was 4 percentage points.

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