The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) allowed states to expand Medicaid to help lower-income people and the working poor gain access to medical insurance, many for the first time in their lives. 21 states have refused that money, largely because politicians are playing politics, and it’s costing human lives. Like Israel, who you’re about to meet.
So, what is the politics being play here? Opponents of Obamacare are seeking to create a crisis, either in the provision of care, or within state economies, by refusing federal government financial support to pay for the expansion of healthcare. As the Reid Wilson writes, in the Washington Post:
The Affordable Care Act requires the federal government to pay 100 percent of the costs of expanding Medicaid for three years. After that period, the law mandates the federal government pay 90 percent of the costs of expansion.
The 10 percent investment that would be left to the states, the study’s authors conclude, would be justified by the huge investments from the federal government.
“States that choose to participate in the Medicaid expansion will gain considerable new federal funds,” the study’s authors write. “States often seek to increase their share of federal funds, lobbying for military bases, …read more