Ten Republican-Led States Jeopardize Lives by Rejecting Full Medicaid Expansion

[RandySF]

WASHINGTON — During Medicaid Awareness Month, it’s important to remember that there are still 10 states with Republican-led legislatures that refuse to fully expand Medicaid, leaving 1.5 million Americans uninsured and with worse health outcomes. Medicaid serves as a lifeline for millions of low-income and vulnerable Americans and reduces racial disparities in health care coverage. It plays a pivotal role in determining the accessibility, location, and timing of medical care, while also mitigating the financial burden of medical expenses.

Despite the Affordable Care Act offering states the opportunity to expand Medicaid, these 10 Republican-led states continue to resist fully expanding this critical program. Republicans in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are leaving billions of federal dollars on the table, continue to lose funding for rural hospitals, and represent a broader GOP willingness to risk the lives of their constituents.

Republicans’ longstanding refusal to fully expand Medicaid encapsulates the importance of state legislative power. When Republicans hold power, they deny health care access for thousands and sometimes millions of their constituents in need. When Democrats are in power, they prioritize Medicaid expansion and health care investments that save lives.

“Republicans in state legislatures have obstructed health care access by refusing to fully expand Medicaid for over a decade. There’s no excuse for ten years of inaction when the results clearly show Medicaid reduces health care disparities and saves lives. The GOP is playing politics with people’s lives while leaving needed federal money on the table. That money could go to keeping rural hospitals open or better meeting the health care needs of the people in these states. Democrats in state legislatures understand these stakes, which is why they have worked to expand Medicaid and prioritize essential health care access. The DLCC will continue to highlight the deadly consequences of Republicans’ decade-long obstruction of Medicaid expansion as we work to build Democratic power in the states.”




https://dlcc.org/press/ten-republican-led-states-jeopardize-lives-by-rejecting-full-medicaid-expansion/

[Grins]

1. 10 Republican states refuse to expand Medicaid?

Sometimes in spite of what their constituents VOTED FOR? In ballot petitions they voted for in amazing numbers? Only to have the legislators THEY VOTED FOR block it? And for them to re-elect those same legislators…?

Fuck em’! Masochism is dangerous.

And when their local hospital closes doors because Medicare/Medicaid grants dried up, leaving the only hospital available to them a life-threatening 40-80 miles away….Democrats should sweep in and say:

“We tried to help. But you voted Republican.”

And walk away.

[Lonestarblue]

2. Texas Republicans are proud that they are number 1 in the country with the most citizens without healthcare.

They also have the most draconian requirements to qualify for the Medicaid they do have, with maximum income being so low that very few people can access it. In addition, they forced the closure of nearly a hundred women’s healthcare clinics that served the poor. Insted, they spent tax money on Christian crisis pregnancy centers that provide no healthcare but plenty of lies about abortion. We badly need universal healthcare.