Update on governors accepting or refusing the expanding of ACA (Obamacare): [View all]

[Sarah Ibarruri]

Last edited Mon Mar 31, 2014, 01:19 PM - Edit history (1)

Here are the states whose governors signed to allow the expansion of ACA (Obamacare):

•Arizona: On June 17, 2013, Gov. Jan Brewer (R) signed into law legislation that will expand Medicaid to an additional 350,000 people in the state. The signing came after Brewer called a surprise special session on the 2014 budget and Medicaid to try to resolve a deadlock among lawmakers on the two issues.

•Arkansas: Gov. Mike Beebe (D) on April 23, 2013, signed the state's expansion plan into law. Under the plan, Arkansas would accept the federal money for Medicaid expansion provided through the ACA but would use it to buy private insurance for about 250,000 eligible low-income residents. The federal government approved the plan in September 2013.

•California: Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on June 27, 2013, signed legislation that would expand the state's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, to more than 1.4 million additional residents under the ACA.

•Colorado: Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) signed the expansion into law on May 13, 2013. He says that the expansion will save the state $280 million over 10 years and help cover an additional 160,000 adults.

•Connecticut: Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) was among the first governors to sign up for the Medicaid expansion after the ACA was enacted. The state was one of five states that opted to expand eligibility early.

•Delaware: Gov. Jack Markell (D) in January 2013 reiterated his support for the Medicaid expansion, including an additional $35.8 million for Medicaid in his FY 2014 spending plan. On July 1, 2013, Markell signed a FY 2014 budget plan that includes $29.8 million to "fund the State's Medicaid commitment."

•District of Columbia: D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (D) in a statement on June 28, 2012, said, "The District is not at risk of losing any Medicaid funding as a result of [the Supreme Court] ruling, because District officials have already begun implementation of the ACA's Medicaid-expansion provisions and will continue to implement the expansion." D.C. sought permission from the federal government to expand its Medicaid program on May 13, 2010. The move expanded Medicaid to an additional 35,000 residents.

•Hawaii: Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) has said his state will participate in the expansion. In a statement on June 28, 2012, Abercrombie said, "The Affordable Care Act is our ally in this effort" to "to support a healthcare system that ensures high quality, safety and sustainable costs." According to the Department of Human Services, the state is expanding Medicaid eligibility through the ACA.

•Illinois: Gov. Pat Quinn (D) signed Medicaid expansion into law on July 22, 2013. Approximately 342,000 low-income Illinois residents will be newly insured under the expansion.

•Iowa: On Dec. 12, 2013, Gov. Terry Branstad (R) announced that his administration and the White House had agreed on the finals details of his plan to expand Medicaid. Two days earlier, CMS approved Iowa's alternate expansion proposal, which would allow the state to use federal funding under the ACA to help more than 100,000 low-income residents purchase private health coverage through the new Iowa Health and Wellness Plan. Branstad also proposed a small additional premium for certain beneficiaries. Under the agreement, Iowa will levy the additional premium on individuals with incomes exceeding 50% of the federal poverty level beginning in 2015. The state promised that it will not drop individuals' coverage if they fail to make payments.

•Kentucky: On May 9, 2013, Gov. Steve Beshear (D) said that expanding Medicaid is the right choice for Kentucky, noting that it would halve the number of uninsured in the state. He reiterated that sentiment in a Sept. 26, 2013, opinion piece in the New York Times. On Sept. 3, 2013, a federal judge cleared the way for the state to participate in the Affordable Care Act, ruling that the governor has the authority to expand Medicaid and establish an insurance exchange.

•Maryland: On May 5, 2013, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) signed into law HB 228 to fully implement the Affordable Care Act.

•Massachusetts: On July 5, 2013, Gov. Deval Patrick (D) signed into law HB 3452, requiring Massachusetts to come into compliance with new federal regulations under the ACA. On July 12, 2013, Patrick signed into law the state's FY 2014 budget, which supports full implementation of the Affordable Care Act, including the Medicaid expansion.

•Michigan: On Sept. 3, 2013, the Michigan House voted 75-32 to grant final approval to a bill that would expand the state's Medicaid program beginning in April 2014. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed the bill into law on Sept. 16, 2013. The proposal contains cost-sharing provisions for Medicaid beneficiaries; it received federal approval in December.

•Minnesota: Gov. Mark Dayton (D) in February 2013 signed legislation that expanded Medicaid to an additional 35,000 childless, low-income adults in the state.

•Nevada: Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) in December 2012 became the first GOP governor to commit his state to expanding Medicaid under the ACA. According to Sandoval's announcement, nearly 78,000 Nevadans would be covered by the expansion.

•New Hampshire: On March 27, 2014, Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) signed bipartisan legislation (SB 413) to expand Medicaid coverage to an estimated 50,000 low-income state residents. Starting in April 2014, the state will move eligible residents into Medicaid programs. The plan then calls for enrolling those residents in private coverage options through the ACA insurance exchange in 2016, which would require a federal waiver. The law requires the state to receive that waiver by March 31, 2015; failure to do so would result in termination of the program three months later.

•New Jersey: Gov. Chris Christie (R) on June 28, 2013, signed a state budget that includes $227 million for Medicaid expansion in the state. However, he vetoed legislation that would have made the expansion permanent in the state.

•New Mexico: Gov. Susana Martinez (R) on Jan. 9, 2013, announced that the state would participate in the Medicaid expansion.
•New York: On June 28, 2012, in an announcement immediately following the Supreme Court's ruling on the ACA, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said the state would participate in the expansion.

•North Dakota: Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) in April 2013 signed legislation expanding Medicaid in the state.

•Ohio: The state's Controlling Board—a special bipartisan legislative panel—approved Medicaid expansion in 5-2 vote on Oct. 21, 2013, allowing Gov. John Kasich (R) to expand the program on Jan. 1, 2014, without approval from Ohio's Republican-controlled Legislature. Conservative lawmakers have pledged to mount a fierce legal campaign against the move.

•Oregon: The state has moved forward on Medicaid expansion with the support of Gov. John Kitzhaber (D). Starting on Jan. 1, 2014, state residents earning up to 138% FPL will qualify for Medicaid, up from 100% FPL in 2013.

•Rhode Island: On July 3, 2013, about one week before the state General Assembly adjourned for the year, Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) signed a fiscal year 2014 budget measure that included a plan to expand Medicaid, which he endorsed in June 2012 and outlined in his 2014 budget proposal.

•Vermont: Health Care Access Commissioner Mark Larson in July 2012 said that Vermont would receive federal funds to expand its Medicaid program under the ACA. The expansion is expected to insure an additional 47,000 state residents.

•Washington: Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on June 30, 2013, signed a state budget that would expand Medicaid in the state.

•West Virginia: Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) in May 2013 announced that the state would expand Medicaid, extending coverage to an additional 91,500 state residents.


http://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/resources/primers/medicaidmap#lightbox/1/

Of course, my state is not on the list, Florida, but we have that Medicare fraud criminal of a Republican governor.