GOP Election Gains Could Threaten Medicaid Expansion Momentum
Some Republican governors who were interested in pursuing an expansion now face unexpected roadblocks. Also, new GOP muscle in Congress, as well as the pending health law case at the Supreme Court, are combining to undermine some interest in this health law provision.
Politico:
Medicaid Expansion May Contract
Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion is under renewed assault in the states even as the health law faces threats in Washington from the Supreme Court and a Republican Congress. A handful of Republican governors said that after the November elections, they’d be open to taking billions of federal dollars to cover millions of their low-income residents under the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion. Instead, Medicaid faces possible retrenchment after a Republican tide swept emboldened Obamacare foes into every level of government. (Wheaton, 1/14)
Meanwhile, in news from Florida -
The Miami Herald:
Florida Chamber Supports 'Alternative Plan' For Medicaid Expansion
Another influential business group wants to see Florida lawmakers accept federal dollars to help extend healthcare coverage to uninsured Floridians. In a report issued Tuesday, the the Florida Chamber of Chamber said it opposes "the traditional expansion of Medicaid." But the group would be willing to support a plan to use the federal funds that "embraces private solutions with flexible steps to eliminate the $1.4 billion cost shift on Florida families and caps Florida's Medicaid budget at 32 percent." (McGrory, 1/13)