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The number of people lacking health insurance dropped by half in the 29 states that expanded Medicaid under ObamaCare, far more than states that did not agree to the expansion, according to new data. While all states saw major increases in coverage under ObamaCare, the biggest differences were seen in states that accepted federal dollars to expand eligibility for Medicaid, according to new figures from the Urban Institute’s Health Reform Monitoring Survey. (Ferris, 4/16)

Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that he and some Republican state lawmakers are planning a trip to Washington, D.C., at the end of April with the hope of working toward a Medicaid expansion deal. Herbert, a Republican, said at his monthly televised news conference on KUED-TV that the group, which includes Senate President Wayne Niederhauser and House Speaker Greg Hughes, is working to set up a meeting with federal health officials. (Price, 5/16)

Alaskans from every region of the state support expansion of Medicaid, said pollster Ivan Moore, putting new pressure on legislators who oppose expansion and say they are reflecting their constituents' views. "Even in the most conservative, Republican areas of the state, Fairbanks and the Mat-Su, it's still 2-1 in favor," Moore said. Moore's poll, part of his company's quarterly Alaska survey, showed 65 percent of Alaskans in favor of expansion, with 22 percent opposed. That's close to a poll conducted for the Republican-led House majority caucus a few weeks ago that showed 60 percent in favor. (Forgey, 4/16)

Trying to understand the four Medicaid bills working their way through the Alaska Legislature? Good luck, unless you have a graduate degree in public health. The changes proposed by Gov. Bill Walker and Republican lawmakers to the complex, $600 million-a-year state-federal health care program have generated significant confusion and consternation both inside and outside the Legislature. Recent efforts to explain them have included hasty fax messages sent to hundreds of doctors, a sharp response from the state’s health commissioner, and even an analogy comparing the federal government to Darth Vader, the infamous masked villain in the Star Wars movies. (Herz, 4/16)

In 49 states, there are basically two options for public health insurance programs: Medicaid for the very poor, and subsidized private health insurance on the Affordable Care Act's exchanges for everyone else. Minnesota is the exception. Unlike every other state, it has a third option in the middle: MinnesotaCare. (Montgomery, 4/16)

Republicans in the Minnesota House took the wraps off a health and human services budget bill Thursday that cuts about $1 billion over the next two years, money Republicans want to use to help pay for tax cuts. The bill ends MinnesotaCare, shifts payments to insurance companies to future years, cuts Human Services Department spending and adds money for nursing homes. (Richert, 4/16)

In 2008, while Democrats were declaring that the time was right for national health care reform, Marco Rubio, the speaker of the Florida House, had a ready response: Florida should build a market-based system that would help contain the cost of insurance and make it more available. ... Florida Health Choices, which finally opened last year, now covers 80 people. Obamacare, which Rubio wants to repeal, covers 1.6 million in Florida alone. And 93 percent of them are subsidized. ... Rubio spokeswoman Brooke Sammon said the senator continues to support a “true free-market exchange,” and she blamed Obamacare’s subsidies for luring buyers away from Florida Health Choices. (Pradhan, 4/17)