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Some Republican-led states are rethinking their refusal to expand Medicaid in the aftermath of the failed House effort to bulldoze the Affordable Care Act. Insurers that operate Medicaid plans are seeing dollar signs. But expansion to low-income adults continues to face resistance from some GOP governors, state lawmakers and conservative advocacy groups, who say states can't afford it and it creates welfare dependency. (Livingston, 4/1)

In all, 31 states and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid after the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010. The majority acted so that the expansion went into effect in 2014. A handful of states, including Louisiana and Montana, that first rejected the expansion have since embraced it. But those efforts face the same political and ideological fights that have plagued health care policy in Washington, You could hear the echoes in Topeka last week. (Kodjak, 3/2)

Tennessee Democrats describe the death of the American Health Care Act in Washington last week as a gift from God and a new opportunity for the state to expand Medicaid to provide health insurance to as many as 400,000 additional low-income Tennesseans. But Republicans have been much more reserved, suggesting a more strategic approach might be the best route forward. House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, said Thursday that the tabling of the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, was unexpected. He said the move offers state lawmakers an opportunity to start collecting $2.5 million per day in federal funding the state has foregone by not expanding Medicaid as called for under Obamacare. (Lowary, 3/31)

Now that House Republicans have squandered their shot at reordering Medicaid, governors who want conservative changes in the health program for ­low-income Americans must get special permission from the Trump administration. Near the front of the line is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican who not only supports work requirements and premium payments but also a new additional condition: to make applicants undergo a drug test if they’re suspected of substance abuse. (Winfield Cunningham, 4/2)

Indiana’s alternative Medicaid program enabled one Hoosier to get life-saving back surgery. ... “If it wasn’t for HIP 2.0, I would be dead,” one patient wrote in comments the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collected as part of the agency’s consideration of Indiana’s request to continue the program, which has been touted as a model for other states. Criticism, however, was more prevalent than praise in the nearly 100 comments submitted. (Groppe, 4/3)

More than 1 million Minnesotans get coverage from Medicaid, the joint state-federal program to provide medical care to needy Americans. The majority are families with children, eligible for taxpayer-supported coverage because of their low income. But Medicaid — also called “Medical Assistance” in Minnesota — also covers people like David Bender, a 30-year-old St. Paul resident with severe mental and physical disabilities. ... But this life-saving care for some of Minnesota’s more vulnerable citizens doesn’t come cheap. The Medicaid programs covering elderly and disabled Minnesotans account for about 20 percent of enrollment — but almost 60 percent of the $11 billion Minnesota spent on Medicaid last year. (Montgomery, 4/2)