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Do You Live in a State That Didn't Expand Medicaid?

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  • justin412
    2015-03-14 06:01:40 PM
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    I'm really interested to see what individuals who live in states that didn't expand Medicaid think about their governments decision. Do you agree with its decision to not expand the program or would you have liked to see it expanded?

    I live in Oregon and we expanded Medicaid according to the standards set forth in the Affordable Care Act. I don't qualify for Medicaid or any subsidies, but I personally am glad that my state government decided to ensure that as many people as possible could be covered in our state.

    My hope is to avoid an overtly political argument about the Affordable Care Act and instead begin a discussion as to whether it is in a states best interest to not move forward with Medicaid expansion. I personally feel it is a bad decision both politically and morally to not expand Medicaid in a state. Physicians must treat someone if they walk through the Emergency Room door and the cost is then passed down to everyone else if that individual doesn't have health insurance. That then causes everyone's premiums to rise and we then find ourselves back at square one.

    What do you think? Should all states expand Medicaid or am I missing something here that could change my mind?
  • bryce28
    2015-03-15 08:26:59 PM
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    It's a good question. Made me wonder whether my state had or not. Not sure why I would think that Texas would have, on second thought, as they unanimously decided not to (again, I shouldn't be surprised by that vote). But I did find this resource that tracks every state's decision to expand, or not.

    28 states and D.C. did. 5 states are still undecided. 17 chose not to, with 6 others 'expanding coverage with alternative plan(s)'. To see if your state did, and by what accord, check this out:

    Where the states stand on Medicaid expansion, 28 states, D.C. expanding Medicaid
  • Max
    2015-03-16 01:33:28 PM
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    I just can't see any reason to not expand Medicaid in all fifty states. The number of uninsured in those states has dramatically dropped and continues to do so. It's not only a the moral thing to do---it's the financially smart thing to do if a state wants to see their health care costs go down.
  • J.K.Logic
    2016-04-24 08:14:48 PM
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    bryce28 Wrote: 28 states and D.C. did. 5 states are still undecided. 17 chose not to, with 6 others 'expanding coverage with alternative plan(s)'. To see if your state did, and by what accord, check this out:

    Where the states stand on Medicaid expansion, 28 states, D.C. expanding Medicaid

    Looks like we are now at 31 states and DC, with 17 still choosing not to, and 2 still undecided.

    Of the 2, South Dakota and Alabama seem close to passing a version of expansion as well. It's interesting that the 17 states that opt out are curiously of the GOP slant. 15/17 governors from those states are (R).

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