When the Supreme Court ruled that the mandate was not unconstitutional, the headline was that ObamaCare was in full effect. However, the Supreme Court did, in fact, put some limitations on the Affordable Care Act:
Now, the logic of the court makes me wonder how on earth it was constitutional that states had to agree to the 55 MPH speed limit on highways if they desired to receive federal funding for highway repair. But that’s a philosophical argument for another time. (And another court.)
Since that ruling was handed down, states have, almost entirely on partisan lines, either accepted or rejected the expansion, with a few undecided as the deadline approaches. As of last month:
In Missouri, a Republican-controlled legislature is responsible for the state’s rejection.
The narrative concerning states rejecting the expansion all seems to point to how Republicans at the state level are making a bad choice - they are passing up free money in times when most states can use all of the income they can get to help with their budgets. And this partisan move doesn’t just get measured in terms of dollars and cents; their decision is hurting the residents of their states, literally killing the people who are most in need of the expansion.
Now, Republican state leaders are not going to come out and say “We are making bad decisions for our state based purely on ideology.” But then I see this quote from Georgia Governor Nathan Deal:
Yeah, he really did just say that he won’t accept the Medicaid Expansion because he thinks the US government is lying to him. :rolleyes:
So I create this thread looking for more than just putting party before red state. I look for actual reasons why a responsible governor would reject Medicaid Expansion into their states. If even a Conservative hardliner such as Arizona Gov. Brewer - she of the infamous finger-pointing at Obama after he got off his plane, she who was against ObamaCare - saw enough positives for her state by accepting the expansion that she alienated Arizona Republican lawmakers and conservative pundits across the country by going so far as to veto all legislation until the Arizona Congress passed a bill addressing it. That is how important it was to her.
So you’re a state governor. Why on earth would you not accept the Medicaid Expansion? “Because I am a Republican” is a childish reply. “Because my country is lying about paying for it” is even worse. Is there a reason that makes any sense?