Republican Advances At State Level Could Stymie Efforts To Expand Medicaid
Some GOP governors have shown a willingness to negotiate with the federal government on the issue, but legislators are less interested. News outlets also look at specific efforts in Texas and Arizona.
The Washington Post:
Republicans In State Governments Plan Juggernaut Of Conservative Legislation
The unprecedented breadth of the Republican majority — the party now controls 31 governorships and 68 of 98 partisan legislative chambers — all but guarantees a new tide of conservative laws. ... there will be exceptions to the coming conservative juggernaut. Despite conservative opposition to Obamacare, some Republicans are debating whether and how to accept federal Medicaid expansion. Republican governors of Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, North Carolina and Tennessee have said they will try to persuade their legislators to accept federal funding, while Democratic governors in Montana and Pennsylvania will work with Republican-controlled legislatures in a similar vein. (Wilson, 1/2)
The Associated Press:
GOP Legislators Thwart Bids To Expand Medicaid
Governors across the political spectrum are hitting a roadblock in their bids to expand Medicaid with federal funds: Republican legislators who adamantly oppose "Obamacare." While some of these governors themselves have criticized the president's health care law in general, they've come to see one component — Medicaid expansion — as too generous to reject. But they're battling conservative lawmakers who say it's better to turn down billions of federal dollars than to expand Medicaid under the 2010 law. (Babington, 1/1)
The Associated Press:
Could Texas Win Block Medicaid Grant From Feds?
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott and many top conservatives support working with Washington to devise a federal block grant that would allow the state to remake Medicaid, a joint state-federal program that provides health care for the poor and disabled. Such an agreement could also earn Texas much of the up to $10 billion in annual subsidies that would have otherwise come via Medicaid expansion. That idea may shape Texas' renegotiations with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over an existing five-year, nearly $30 billion Medicaid waiver mostly used to reimburse hospitals for uninsured care and set to expire in September 2016. (Weissert, 1/1)
Arizona Republic:
Ariz. High Court Allows Medicaid Challenge To Advance
Arizona's legal battle over Medicaid expansion will be allowed to continue, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, meaning continued uncertainty for nearly 300,000 low-income Arizonans, the state budget and Arizona's hospitals. In a unanimous ruling, the high court permitted a challenge from 36 Republican state lawmakers to return to court for a decision on whether expansion of the state's health-insurance program for the poor was legally enacted. (Pitzl, 12/31)
Los Angeles Times:
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Dealt Legal Blow Over Medicaid Expansion Plan
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was dealt a significant legal defeat Wednesday when the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit challenging her controversial Medicaid expansion plan could move forward. (Baxter, 12/31/14)
Kaiser Health News:
How A State's Choice On Medicaid Expansion Affects Hospitals
In negotiating the creation of the Affordable Care Act, hospitals took a big gamble, with the expectation that they would soon have millions of new Medicaid customers. In states that expanded Medicaid, the bet paid off. (Varney, 12/29)
