States and Medicaid Expansion

Posted on February 6, 2013 by townsend

• Ohio to seek expansion of Medicaid, By Lisa Bernard-Kuhn, February 4, 2013, USA Today: “Medicaid coverage will be expanded to nearly 600,000 low-income Ohioans now left out of the program as part of the state’s two-year budget Gov. John R. Kasich proposed Monday. The move positions Ohio among a contingent of Republican-led states including Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and North Dakota that are leaning toward extending coverage, an option given to states under the federal Affordable Care Act…”
• Snyder urges Michigan lawmakers to approve Medicaid expansion, By Kathleen Gray and Robin Erb, February 6, 2013, Detroit Free Press: “A day before he delivers his budget message to the state Legislature, Gov. Rick Snyder gave his unconditional support for an expansion of Medicaid to include about 450,000 more uninsured, low-income Michiganders into the program…”
• Governor takes a pass on expanding Medicaid, By Bill Toland, February 5, 2013, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Pennsylvania is taking a pass on a major expansion to its Medicaid program, at least for now. Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, in a letter sent today to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, said that ‘The Medicaid program in Pennsylvania is on an unsustainable path. … I firmly believe we can serve more of our citizens in Pennsylvania, but only if we are given the independence and flexibility to do so. At this time, without serious reforms, it would be financially unsustainable for Pennsylvania taxpayers, and I cannot recommend a dramatic Medicaid expansion,’ said the letter, released today as part of the governor’s budget address…”
• Gov. Jay Nixon’s Medicaid proposal would mean millions for health care industry, By Elizabeth Crisp, February 5, 2013, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Missouri health care providers stand to see a significant boost in payments for treating Medicaid patients under Gov. Jay Nixon’s proposal to expand the health care program for the poor. The budget proposal Nixon released last week would close a long-standing gap between what Medicaid pays for health care and what providers get on the private market, but it would also add millions to the federal government’s tab for the expansion…”
• U.S. government would pick up bulk of cost of state Medicaid expansion, By Jason Stein, February 5, 2013, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Federal money available under the new health care law would allow Wisconsin to cover up to 175,000 more people through its BadgerCare program for the needy, a study from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates. The state would save $66 million in the first three years, but then pay back those savings and pay up to $67 million more in the subsequent four years. However, those numbers are dwarfed by the federal money available – a projected $4.38 billion, or 66 times the state’s investment – to provide health care through 2020. Gov. Scott Walker gave little sign Tuesday that he would support such an expansion, warning through a spokesman that with all the budget pressures in Washington, the federal money might not materialize – leaving the state on the hook…”