Medicaid enrollees have better access to medical care than people who are uninsured, according to a new insurance industry study that refutes critics who say patients are better off without the government program for the poor.

“The story is pretty simple: Medicaid is a very important component to our ecosystem,” said Craig Burns, vice president of policy and research at America’s Health Insurance Plans, the nation’s largest health insurer lobby. “It provides services and access to a very vulnerable portion of the population.”