Ezra Klein: The Affordable Care Act’s big giveaway to stingy red states

[marmar]

from the WaPo:



Over the coming weeks and months, there’s going to be a new event in the Republican Party’s ongoing “No, I’m the most anti-Obamacare!” contest: refusing to participate in the law’s proposed Medicaid expansion. So far, the governors of Florida, South Carolina and Louisiana have already promised to do exactly that.

Ignore them. The deal the federal government is offering states on Medicaid is too good to refuse. And that’s particularly true for the red states. If Mitt Romney loses the election and Republicans lose their chance to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they’re going to end up participating in the law. They can’t afford not to.

Medicaid is jointly administered between states and the federal government, and the states are given considerable leeway to set eligibility rules. Texas covers only working adults up to 26 percent of the poverty line. The poverty line for an individual is $11,170. So, you could be a single person making $3,000 a year and you’re still not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid in Texas. That’s part of the reason Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation.

Massachusetts, by contrast, covers working adults up to 133 percent of the poverty line — partly due to a former governor whose name rhymes with Schmitt Schmomney. It’s a big reason it has the lowest uninsured rate in the nation. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/03/the-affordable-care-acts-giveaway-to-stingy-red-states/?hpid=z3

[Bill USA]

1. If states don't want to participate in ACA I say we should stop funding Disproportionate Share

Hospital programs in those states. I wouldn't put it past Republican Governors to say "no". They don't give a damn about people who don't/can't contribute much to their campaigns.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1016&pid=34025