The resistance of (now) 20 states refusing the ACA Medicaid expansion is shocking on two fronts:
First, it prevents approximately 10 million otherwise eligible citizens from getting health insurance. Most of these folks are working – not that this matters, but that fact blunts the far-right's implication that poor people deserve what they get, and the less they get, the better. Further, these 10 million are some of the most unfortunate among us; a truly tragic state of affairs.
Second, refusing Medicaid expansion is fiscally irresponsible at the state level. Virginia, for instance (one of the refusing group) is taking a 3% budget blow, and that just accounts for the refused Federal dollars. There’s a multiplier effect when that money is accepted, jobs are created, and taxes are paid into Virginia’s coffers. Refusing the Medicaid expansion is fiscally indefensible for all 50 states; any state in their right mind takes the money, helps it’s most needy citizens, and rewards its budget with the windfall.
So, what would make any state choose the irrational path of refusing to expand Medicaid?
The answer, as you already know, is Barack Obama, who happens to be a black man. Whether the ‘black man’ part is relevant, well, I’ll let you decide. But, as a hint, take a look at the map (not included in this Diary) showing the refusing states. Aside from several states that didn’t exist during the Civil War, most of the states struggling with the logic of Medicaid expansion look like the old Confederacy. And how else do we explain the overt hatred of this President?
But I digress. I believe that soon enough all 50 states will have appropriately accepted the Medicaid expansion. Reason: Soon, Barack Obama will become a past President, and the deep-seated racial fears that have energized many of our tea-drinking friends will naturally relax; as a result, they will become less virulent, less openly hateful, and less politically active. Governors of these states (at least those that survive the coming backlash) will then find the courage to do the right thing for their citizens.
Inevitable, like the sunrise.