The Obamacare Hail Mary That Could Save The Senate For Democrats [View all]

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The Obamacare Hail Mary That Could Save The Senate For Democrats

The 2014 handicapping is underway, and the consensus is clear: Democrats face a tough battle to maintain control of the Senate...But Democrats might have a secret weapon in a couple of those key Senate races. Activist groups and state lawmakers are working to get Obamacare's Medicaid expansion on the ballot in Louisiana and Montana, where they have vulnerable candidates and GOP officials have refused to adopt the provision.

"Turnout is the biggest challenge that Democrats face," one Democratic operative told TPM. "There are a variety of ways that you can meet your turnout goals, and one of them is certainly ballot initiatives. Medicaid expansion really could be a powerful tool to turn voters out."

The first trick is getting the question on the ballot. In Montana, activists are required to gather a little more than 24,000 signatures by June 20. The order is taller in Louisiana: getting the GOP-controlled legislature to approve it. Its odds probably aren't great, local reporters say, but a few GOP lawmakers did express an openness to the expansion last year. The bill has already been introduced in the state Senate by a Democrat.

South Dakota serves as a cautionary tale for the success of this gambit. Democrats there, where the party is trying to hold onto the seat of the retiring Sen. Tim Johnson, had attempted to get Medicaid expansion on the ballot, but it was defeated by Republicans in the state legislature.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-medicaid-expansion-ballot-initiative

Medicaid expansion sure is popular

By Steve Benen

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act enjoys quite a bit of support from health care experts, hospital administrators, most of the nation’s governors (from both parties), advocates for low-income families, and those with policymakers with access to calculators.

But it’s worth keeping in mind that voters are on board, too. The Washington Post reports today on a new survey from the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University, which found that 56% of Virginia residents support expansion – a top priority for Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who made this a key part of his 2013 platform.

The poll found that supporters of a federally funded expansion included 55 percent of self-identified Republicans and majorities in every region of the state. <…>

Virginia would initially receive about $2 billion a year from Washington if it expanded Medicaid, which would offer coverage to about 400,000 of the state’s uninsured. A recent estimate from the state Health Department projected that expansion would save Virginia about $1 billion over eight years. Among other factors, Medicaid expansion would move many indigent patients to federally funded care.

And it’s not just Virginia. Two weeks ago, a statewide poll in Kentucky found that 79% of state residents agreed with Gov. Steve Beshear’s decision to expand Medicaid coverage. Even 60% of Kentucky Republicans support the idea, suggesting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) hasn’t exactly persuaded his own in-state allies on the issue.

And the week before that, a statewide survey in South Dakota found 63% of state residents are on board with Medicaid expansion.

It’s one thing for the right’s arguments against Medicaid expansion to fall short in states like Vermont and Hawaii, but these polls suggest the conservative talking points aren’t connecting in Virginia, Kentucky, and South Dakota, either.

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http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/medicaid-expansion-sure-popular

Uninsurance Rate Falls To Five-Year Low As 3.3 Million Enroll In Obamacare
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024555270