In a tweet on Oct. 17, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, said, “Opioid crisis (is) the worst in ObamaCare expansion states!”
Gaetz said the “opioid crisis (is) the worst in ObamaCare expansion states.”
Gaetz is isolating on one year’s worth of data that, by itself, is flawed. The CDC data at the heart of this claim includes drug overdoses from illicit drugs that are not opioids. And by ignoring a larger window, Gaetz misses the fact that the Medicaid expansion states he’s talking about had an opioid problem before the health care legislation took effect.
Experts were universal in saying that the evidence that Medicaid expansion is somehow fueling the opioid crisis doesn’t exist. In some ways, it’s not much different than saying that the opioid crisis is worst in states in the eastern time zone. You wouldn’t blame a clock.
We rate this claim Mostly False.
To read the full fact check, go to politifact.com.