Sebelius Urges Kansas, Missouri To Expand Medicaid
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appeared in Missouri and Kansas to urge officials to accept federal expansion funds, calling it a moral and financial imperative. Meanwhile, a new poll finds support for the expansion in Virginia and news outlets cover developments in Florida and South Carolina.
The Kansas City Star: Sebelius Promotes Obamacare In Kansas City
It is a moral and financial imperative for Missouri and Kansas to expand their Medicaid programs, President Barack Obama’s champion in chief for the Affordable Care Act said this morning in Kansas City. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urged state legislators to accept federal Medicaid expansion funds available to Missouri, Kansas and other states that haven’t bought into a key facet of health care reform (Stafford, 2/3).
The Washington Post: Poll Finds Support For Medicaid Expansion In Virginia
A majority of Virginia voters support expanding Medicaid as long as there are federal funds to pay for it, according to a new poll. The Wason Center at Christopher Newport University found that 56 percent of the state’s registered voters back the expansion of the state-federal health program for the poor, but almost the same number — 54 percent — would oppose it if the federal government did not provide the promised funding (Weiner, 2/3).
PBS NewsHour: In A State Without Medicaid Expansion, Uninsured South Carolinians Mind The Gap
After the Supreme Court ruled that states were not obligated to expand their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act, South Carolina was one of the first to opt out. PBS NewsHour’s Mary Jo Brooks reports on the effects for residents who are still uninsured, plus a small alternative program designed to reach some of them (Brooks, 2/3).
Health News Florida: Medicaid Saves 1,100 Lives: Study
More than 1,100 Floridians will die prematurely if the state Legislature continues to refuse to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. This prediction emerges from a study published on the Health Affairs blog. The analysis considers the implications of three previous data-collection efforts by other groups (Gentry, 2/3).