Republican Governors are Withholding Health Care from Millions

Seventeen states still have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act

As the Carolinas attempt to recover from Hurricane Florence, some residents may find themselves in need of medical care. Injuries can happen during big storms. However, over 10% of the people in each state don’t have insurance to go to the doctor or the emergency room.

The controversial Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare came with a clause that allowed states to expand Medicaid to 138% of the federal poverty line, with the federal government footing 90% of the bill. This seems like a no-brainer, especially since through 2016, the federal government was paying 100% of the costs. This allowed the states to adjust for the additional revenue they would need to bring in or cut to provide more insurance for their residents.

As it stands today, seventeen states still have not fully expanded Medicaid. Sixteen of those states are headed by a Republican, whom have decided that partisanship is more important than people in their states gaining health coverage. North Carolina is the lone state with a Democratic Governor without the expansion. However, he is pushing for it in his next budget.

When the ACA was originally passed, it was written that Medicaid expansion was a national policy, therefore every state would expand coverage to any family up to 138% of the federal poverty level. However, the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the Medicaid expansion could not be forced onto the states and became optional instead. This created a gap in coverage for many. The Kaiser Family Foundation explains,

In states that do not expand Medicaid, many adults fall into a “coverage gap” of having incomes above Medicaid eligibility limits but below the lower limit for Marketplace premium tax credits.

Nationally, more than two million poor uninsured adults fall into the “coverage gap” that results from state decisions not to expand Medicaid, meaning their income is above current Medicaid eligibility but below the lower limit for Marketplace premium tax credits. These individuals would be eligible for Medicaid had their state chosen to expand coverage.

Those in the “coverage gap” are not the only Americans who could be receiving Medicaid. Some adults who are in the 100–138% of federal poverty level don’t have health coverage because they can’t afford it but if they lived in another state like New York or Ohio, they would be covered by Medicaid.

In total, there are about 4.2 million uninsured nonelderly adults who would have medical coverage if all seventeen states expanded Medicaid as the law originally intended. Bigger states, such as Florida and Texas would have huge impacts if they expand. Currently, the average uninsured rate in states that have expanded Medicaid is 8.1%, while states who did not expand have an average rate of 13.3%.

Texas currently has the worst uninsured rate in the country at 17.1%. If they were to expand Medicaid, they would immediately give insurance to almost 1.2 million people in their state. That would make a world of difference. Currently, Texas is very restrictive on adults qualifying for Medicaid. Low-income adults cannot qualify for disability and Medicaid until the individual cannot work or is expected to die, even in cases of cancer, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s.

It’s time to increase the pressure on these Republican Governors and legislatures. Many of these states have important Gubernatorial races coming up in November. Sadly, some of these are still locks for the Republicans. However, states like Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin are in play. The Democratic challengers in those states should be laser focused on exposing the Republican party for what they are — the party of the wealthy. They don’t look out for the poor and working classes and their refusal to expand an efficient, popular program to their constituents at almost no costs proves that point perfectly. Instead, the individuals in each of these states are paying federal taxes for Medicaid expansion without seeing the actual benefit in their state.

Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for Governor in Florida has pushed for Medicaid expansion and beyond that, Medicare for All. The latest poll shows him up four points on the fringe right candidate Ron DeSantis.

Stacey Abrams in Georgia is pushing to be the first African American Governor in the United States. She leads her opponent by six points. Abrams’s number one priority is to expand Medicaid in her state.

In Wisconsin, the incumbent Scott Walker is up against the ropes. The latest poll shows him down five points among likely voters to the Democratic challenger, Tony Evers.

Even in the deep red states of Kansas and Oklahoma, polls show that their races for Governor are in a dead heat. In both states, the Democratic candidates are within one point of the Republican.

We know that Democrats are the winners on the health debate after Senate Republicans were defeated in their attempt to strip millions of health coverage in 2017. Voters are motivated by the issue of health care heading into the 2018 elections so we may witness a few upsets in red states like Kansas and Oklahoma.

A warning to Governors in these seventeen states: Expand Medicaid or be voted out.