Governors Address the Medicaid Expansion
*This infographic is no longer being updated. Information is current as of March 2013.
Governors are currently giving their annual “State of the State” speeches to articulate their policy and budget priorities for the upcoming year. In the infographic below, we’ve captured their statements on where they stand on expanding Medicaid. We’ll continue to update this page as more statements are given in January and February.
State Refor(u)m is also tracking a more comprehensive look at state Medicaid expansion decisions. Check out our chart with direct links to statements from the governor or executive branch, activity in the state legislature, and fiscal and demographic analyses from the state or other institutions.
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| GOVERNORS ADDRESS MEDICAID EXPANSION IN “STATE OF THE STATE” SPEECHES | ||
| Governors Move Forward on ExpansionGov. Brewer (R-AZ): “Arizona citizens have voted TWICE to expand Medicaid coverage. With this move, we will secure a federal revenue stream to cover the costs of the uninsured who already show up in our doctor’s offices and emergency rooms.” Read more Gov. Beebe (D-AR): “Expanding Medicaid can keep hospitals open and operational. It can give 250,000 Arkansans the chance to lead healthier, more productive lives. It can ease uncompensated care and relieve the hidden tax that we all pay. It will create additional private-sector jobs. We just have to say yes.” Read more Gov. Hickenlooper (D-CO): “In this legislative session, we look forward to working with you to expand Medicaid coverage, but in a way that increases value, reduces expenses and doesn’t require additional General Fund dollars.” Read more Gov. Scott (R-FL): “Now, our options are either having Floridians pay to fund this program in other states while denying healthcare to our citizens – or – using federal funding to help some of the poorest in our state with the Medicaid program as we explore other healthcare improvements. . . . I concluded that for the three years the federal government is committed to paying 100 percent of the cost of new people in Medicaid, I cannot, in good conscience, denly the uninsured access to care.” Read more Gov. Quinn (D-IL): “I call on the General Assembly to increase access to health coverage for the uninsured through Medicaid and to create the Illinois Health Insurance Exchange.” Read more Gov. Dayton (D-MN): “Minnesota is one of the leading states in implementing this country’s sweeping and far-reaching reform of providing and paying for health care. Over the next two years, our public programs will provide health care to an additional 145,000 poor Minnesotans who do not have insurance today.” Read more Gov. Nixon (D-MO): “Strengthening Medicaid will strengthen our economy. Without question, it’s the smart thing to do. . . . I’m well aware this is a tough issue politically. But across the country, we’re seeing Governors and state legislators put politics aside to do what’s undeniably best for their states. . . . Not because it’s the easy thing for them to do politically, but because it’s the right thing to do.” Read more Gov. Bullock (D-MT): “Medicaid expansion is federally funded, so if Montana doesn’t expand its Medicaid program, then our tax dollars will be used to help patients in states like Arizona, Nevada and North Dakota – states where Republican Governors are leading the effort to expand Medicaid. Let me make this point abundantly clear: if we fail to act, Montana taxpayer dollars will be used to provide health care to the citizens of states thousands of miles away, while our rates will continue to go up year after year. It’s time we set the politics aside on this issue. Politics won’t treat diabetes. Extremism won’t create jobs. And intransigence won’t provide health care for those wo can’t afford it.” Read more Gov. Sandoval (R-NV): “Last month, I announced that Nevada would comply with the provisions of the Affordable Care Act as they related to the expansion of Medicaid services. As a result, some 78,000 more Nevadans will now have coverage – without facing the new tax penalties imposed by the Affordable Care Act.” Read more Gov. Martinez (R-NM): “[L]ast week, I announced we will expand Medicaid to cover up to 170,000 more low income New Mexicans. It was the right thing to do. It means expanding the health care safety net to more of those in need and moving care from costly emergency rooms into primary care offices.” Read more Gov. Kasich (R-OH): “[This] money can provide health coverage for the poor. . . . They can’t afford health care. What are we going to do, leave them out in the street, walk away from them when we have a chance to help them? . . . [E]xtending Medicaid benefits will help us on many levels, including the positive impact this decision can have on the mentally ill, and the addicted. . . . I know it’s controversial, just please examine your conscious [sic], keep an open mind, and I think we can work and get there. I sure hope so.” Read more |
 Some Governors Still UndecidedGov. Haslam (R-TN): “Expanding Medicaid is not reflected in this year’s budget. I am hesitant to commit additional dollars to Medicaid when it’s already eating up so much of our budget . . . I also understand that the decision isn’t just as easy as standing here today and saying, ‘We’re not going to expand Medicaid.’ There are hospitals across this state, many of them in rural communities, that are going to struggle if not close under the health care law without expansion, and that’s not something to take lightly. Most of us in this room don’t like the Affordable Care Act, but the decision to expand Medicaid isn’t as basic as saying, ‘No ObamaCare, No expansion.’” Read more Gov. Mead (R-WY): “I have asked for money for the mandatory expansion but not for the optional expansion. The mandatory expansion is for those presently eligible but not on Medicaid for different reasons and will include 7,000 new children. . . . I suggest we work now and over the next year preparing. We should continue to seek answers and we should look at the set of conditions we would need to accept an exchange and an expansion package. Let’s decide what we want and make the pitch to the federal government.” Read more |
Governors Steadfast in OppositionGov. Deal (R-GA): “I did not judge it prudent to expand the eligible population of an entitlement program by adding an additional 620,000 new enrollees since our state is already spending approximately $2.5 billion in state taxpayer funds annually.” Read more Gov. Otter (R-ID): “[T]here is broad agreement that the existing Medicaid program is broken. So I’m seeking no expansion of those benefits.” Read more Gov. Bryant (R-MS): “Let me be clear. Any law that will add 300,000 Mississippians to a federal entitlement program partially funded by the state will either result in a huge tax increase or drastic cuts to education, public safety, job creation and other budgets. It will leave our children and grandchildren with ballooning federal debt. . . . Instead of assuming enormous costs that we cannot afford, I would suggest that we spend our time and efforts in finding good jobs for all Mississippians. We should be compassionate by lowering our Medicaid population through economic growth, personal responsibility, and providing more access to private sector health care.” Read more Gov. Fallin (R-OK): “[I]t is unaffordable for the state. . . . Expanding Medicaid as proposed by the president would mean that a huge sum of money would be diverted from other priorities, like education and public safety, as well as existing health care programs. . . . [T]he president’s Medicaid expansion offers no real reform to a flawed and inefficient system. . . . Health care funding should be tied to more flexible policies that significantly improve health outcomes while containing costs. Now, Oklahomans are compassionate people and we understand that there are individuals and families who need help. Moving forward, my administration will continue to develop an ‘Oklahoma Plan’ that focuses on improving the health of our citizens.” Read more Gov. Haley (R-SC): “In the end, I cannot support this expansion for a very simple reason: it avoids addressing our health system’s high costs and poor outcomes. As long as I am governor, South Carolina will not implement the public policy disaster that is ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion.” Read more Gov. Perry (R-TX) “We have made it clear Texas will not expand Medicaid under the ACA.” Read more Gov. McDonnell (R-VA): “Virginia simply cannot afford to become the bank for a federally designed expansion of Medicaid.”Read more |
Infographic created by Robert Gottfried and Sarabeth Zemel
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