States and Medicaid Expansion

Posted on February 24, 2014 by admin

• Virginia and other states wrestle with whether to expand Medicaid under Affordable Care Act, By Laura Vozzella, February 23, 2014, Washington Post: “It was a purely symbolic vote, but Gov. Terry McAuliffe desperately wanted it to go his way. The Democratic governor summoned at least four Republican delegates to his office one by one last week, twisting their arms to support expanding Medicaid in a floor vote the GOP was forcing just for show. The effort backfired. Not only did the House trounce expansion later that day, but one of the four accused McAuliffe of threatening to kill a jobs program in his economically distressed district if he did not go along. McAuliffe’s office said no threat was made, but his last-minute lobbying shows how high the stakes are as legislators in Richmond and statehouses across the country wrestle with whether to boost enrollments in Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act…”
• Tough road for states seeking customized Medicaid expansion, By Christine Vestal, February 24, 2014, Stateline: “Of the 25 states that already have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, all but Arkansas, Iowa and Michigan simply added newly eligible adults to their existing Medicaid programs. That was the easiest approach. In contrast, the states that haven’t yet expanded Medicaid but are considering doing so want to tailor the program to fit their own priorities—and that will take time…”
• Could Medicaid expansion debate turn into an immigration issue?, By Julie Appleby and Patricia Borns, February 23, 2014, Miami Herald: “Florida lawmakers backing expansion of the state’s Medicaid program plan to mount a new argument this legislative session: That voting against extending the program would deprive low-income U.S. citizens of access to insurance that is available to some legal immigrants. At issue is a little-noticed provision of the federal health law that allows some low-income immigrants who live here legally to qualify for subsidies to help them buy private insurance through online marketplaces. Poor U.S. citizens are not eligible for those subsidies because the law provided for an expansion of Medicaid to help them get coverage. A U.S. Supreme court ruling made this provision voluntary, and Florida was among two dozen states that opted out, leaving an estimated 760,000 state residents ineligible for either subsidies or Medicaid…”
• Corbett’s final health plan: gentler, but still an outlier, By Amy Worden and Don Sapatkin, February 19, 2014, Philadelphia Inquirer: “The Corbett administration on Wednesday submitted a softer version of its Medicaid proposal that restores some benefits, but is still viewed by analysts as the most extreme state plan to expand coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The state seeks to use federal Medicaid dollars to subsidize commercial insurance for hundreds of thousands of uninsured Pennsylvanians. Just two other states have won approval for the type of alternative coverage plans Gov. Corbett wants to pursue. The new waiver application delays until 2016 controversial changes that would apply to all able- bodied Medicaid recipients – specifically monthly premium payments and work search requirements – and lifts some limits on coverage proposed in its draft application released late last year…”