Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Wyoming Gov. Changes Course And Urges Legislature To Expand Medicaid
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) was once among the handful of state executives to sue the federal government over the Affordable Care Act. Now, he says he wants his state to expand Medicaid under the ACA to cover thousands of low-income residents. In a Monday press conference, Mead said he would press the state legislature to act on a Medicaid expansion plan put forward last week by the state Department of Health. (Wilson, 12/2)
Gov. Matt Mead said that while he dislikes the Affordable Care Act, he believes the Legislature needs to act on Medicaid expansion. ... 鈥淲hat I will tell the Legislature is: We have fought this,鈥 Mead said. 鈥淚 agree it is not a good piece of legislation, but as I see where we are, I think we have to be realistic and say, 'This is the current law of the land and we need to either go forward with this' or if the Legislature wants to come up with a different plan, I certainly would be open to that. But I don鈥檛 think we can say to those people in Wyoming who are working who cannot get insurance that we鈥檙e not going to do anything.鈥 (Hancock, 12/1)
Toll-free phone lines were jammed, and low-income workers streamed into sign-up sites as enrollment opened Monday for expanded health insurance coverage under Medicaid. An estimated 600,000 people -- most working at low-wage jobs -- are eligible for Medicaid through Healthy PA, the state's alternative to Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. First-day enrollment numbers were unavailable, Kait Gillis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services, said at the end of the day. (Worden, 12/2)
A lack of health insurance is driving many of Nebraska鈥檚 personal bankruptcies and shifting more costs onto hospitals and businesses, advocates who want Nebraska to expand Medicaid told lawmakers Tuesday. Supporters are once again preparing to introduce a Medicaid expansion bill that would extend coverage to an estimated 54,000 Nebraska residents whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to receive subsidies available under the federal health care law. (Schulte, 12/2)
