Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah Vote To Expand Medicaid
Source: Vox
By Sara Kliff, 6 hrs. ago.
Three states voted Tuesday to expand their Medicaid programs, which will extend coverage to an estimated 325,000 low-income Americans. Voters in Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah passed ballot initiatives that would commit their states to participating in the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid to all residents who make less than 133 percent of the poverty line (about $16,000 for an individual or $33,000 for a family of four).
In Idaho, the Medicaid expansion passed by an especially large margin, with 61 percent in favor and 39 percent against. The Nebraska expansion passed with a tighter margin: 53 percent of voters in favor, and 47 percent against. And in Utah, where the vote still hasn’t been certified by the state, but NBC projects a win, the proposition leads with 54 percent of the vote.
Separately, voters in Montana appear to be rejecting a ballot to continue their Medicaid expansion (its funding is set to sunset this summer). With 96 percent of the vote in, 54 percent of Montanans have voted against the measure, which would have also voted against the measure, which would have also increased cigarette taxes. That program has enrolled 129,000 low-income Montanans since the expansion began in 2015 but will end later this year if the legislature doesn’t step in and provide more funding.
Last year, Maine became the first state to approve Medicaid expansion by ballot initiative, though its Republican governor has stood firmly in the way of implementation.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/idaho-nebraska-and-utah-vote-to-expand-medicaid/ar-BBPrp5d?ocid=HPCOMMDHP15
This trend shows that red states are slowly accepting the Medicaid expansion part of Obamacare. It sets up a new strategy for expanding coverage in reluctant states by taking the case directly to voters. Polling also shows that in conservative states Medicaid expansion is more popular than Obamacare.
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