Â鶹ŮÓÅ

In its latest health care push, the White House said Thursday that expanding Medicaid would prevent 380 deaths a year in North Carolina. The Obama Administration has trumpeted the benefits of Medicaid expansion in the past, but it is adding mortality to the list of consequences for non-participating states in its latest update. The report says that 5,180 deaths could be prevented annually in the 22 states that have opted not to expand the federal health care insurance program for the poor and disabled. That ranges from 20 deaths prevented annually in Wyoming and Alaska to 900 in Florida and 1,330 in Texas. (Murawski, 6/4)

The Obama administration said Thursday that Virginia would have healthier and less depressed residents, as well as a better economy, if it expanded a publicly funded health insurance program for the poor. The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report saying that states that have expanded Medicaid are better off and if Virginia were to do so, an additional 179,000 residents would have health insurance coverage and 16,000 fewer would experience symptoms of depression. (Suderman, 6/4)

Medicaid expansion under Obamacare would save nearly 200 lives in South Carolina each year, a new White House report claims. ... Gov. Nikki Haley’s office did not immediately respond to a question about the White House report on Thursday, but she has steadfastly opposed expanding Medicaid since the high court issued its 2012 ruling. Twenty-one other states are also opting out of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. An estimated 160,000 South Carolina residents would qualify for Medicaid next year if the state expanded the health insurance program, the White House report shows. Other reports push that estimate closer to 250,000. (Sausser, 6/4)

A report released by the White House on Wednesday outlined the financial and health benefits for Missouri if the state decides to add more low-income residents to the Medicaid program. But it’s likely to have little effect, especially in the short term, on Missouri’s debate. The analysis is the latest in a series of studies that have sought to use empirical data to build a case for expanding Medicaid programs across the country. (Shapiro, 6/4)

If Alabama expanded its Medicaid program, it would boost federal spending in the state by $1.24 billion in 2016 and save the lives of 210 people who otherwise would die, according to a study released by the White House Thursday. In "Missed Opportunities: The Consequences of State Decisions Not to Expand Medicaid," the report by the White House Council of Advisers draws on previously published research. It is the latest attempt by the Obama administration to persuade Alabama and 21 other holdout states to accept the deal under the Affordable Care Act to expand the federal-state health insurance program for the poor. (Kirby, 6/4)