Donald Trump could be creating a tsunami that takes out Republicans at all levels. And that could be very good news for the working poor and uninsured in a whole mess of red states.
Nineteen states have so far declined to raise Medicaid eligibility as called for in the ACA. November's gubernatorial and state legislative races in a number of states carry high stakes for millions of Americans who either could gain coverage under Medicaid expansion or lose coverage under any rollback. Those election outcomes could be affected by the presidential contest between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, many political observers predict. […]
Around the country, 27 legislative chambers could change party hands in November, with most of those chambers currently held by Republicans, according to Governing magazine. States where a Democratic gubernatorial victory and state legislative gains could make a difference in passing or preserving Medicaid expansion include North Carolina and New Hampshire, two states where Republicans currently control both legislative chambers. Experts say much also depends on whether Tea Party-types or more moderate figures hold the upper hand in each state's Republican Party after the elections. […]
“If Clinton wins, that will put a lot of questions about the future of the ACA to rest, and many states will re-look at the issue of expansion,” said Joan Alker, a Medicaid policy expert at Georgetown University. A Clinton victory, she added, would embolden more pragmatic GOP leaders who have been interested in expansion all along, such as Senate leaders in Florida and the governors of Georgia and South Dakota.
In North Carolina, Missouri, and Utah, Democrats are running on Medicaid, stressing on how much money their states are losing out on, the jobs that it would create, and yes, the good it would do for the people of their states. “I know that expanding Medicaid will create jobs and save lives,” says North Carolina candidate Roy Cooper. “Hundreds of thousands of uninsured North Carolinians shouldn't have to wait for the next governor to take action.”
They'll have to wait. In the meantime, however, they can vote.
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