Politics Continue To Swirl Around State Medicaid Expansion Debates
A group of Democratic senators has written a letter to Republican governors in states such as South Dakota, Wyoming, Wisconsin and Nebraska urging that they set politics aside and pursue the health law's expansion of the state-federal low-income insurance program. Meanwhile, the issue is also front and center in primary elections.
Sioux City Argus Leader/USA Today: Johnson Joins Other Democratic Senators To Urge Medicaid Expansion
Sen. Tim Johnson and other colleagues in the Senate have asked Republican governors in states such as South Dakota to “put politics aside and do the right thing” by expanding Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act. In a letter last week, Johnson told Republican governors, including South Dakota’s Dennis Daugaard, that an estimated 6 million Americans, including almost 50,000 in South Dakota, are not getting coverage because those 18 states have failed to expand Medicaid. The letter also was sent to governors in nearby states such as Wyoming, Wisconsin and Nebraska (Doering, 6/8).
The Wall Street Journal: Tie To Obama's Health Law Proves Risky For Arkansas Republican
Arkansas legislator John Burris says he is a staunch opponent of President Barack Obama's health-care expansion. But after helping to engineer a compromise that allowed Arkansas to use dollars aimed at broadening Medicaid coverage to enroll poorer residents in private health insurance, the Republican finds himself in a tough runoff election Tuesday against an opponent who has played up his link to the Affordable Care Act (Campoy, 6/6).
The Associated Press: Arkansas State Senate Race Focuses On Medicaid Expansion
State Rep. John Burris was among the most vocal opponents of the federal health care overhaul among the Republicans in the state House. Now running for a north Arkansas state Senate seat, however, he finds himself being portrayed as a cheerleader for the law he derides as "Obamacare" (DeMillo, 6/8).
In related news -
The Hill: Cruz: Repeal 'Every Word' Of ObamaCare
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called for the repeal of “every blessed word of ObamaCare” in a fiery speech to a crowd of conservatives in Texas on Friday. Speaking at the Texas Republican Convention, the potential presidential contender hit on a number of conservative issues in a campaign-style speech that was punctuated by cries of, “Run, Ted!” (Jaffe, 6/7).