If you want a good look at what states like Florida are going to be doing to their residents by refusing the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, look no further than the good the very expansion is doing in states that have opted into the program early. California, Minnesota, Washington, Connecticut, New Jersey and the District of Columbia all voluntarily enacted the expansion in 2012, and have already insured an extra 500,000 people before most states have even begun.
Sarah Kliff at Wonk Blog runs down the numbers. Long story short: some states, California especially, have a jumpstart on the transition process into the expanded Medicaid, and have already enrolled tens, if not hundreds of thousands of residents; other states, like Washington, have been able to expand coverage to those vulnerable but not previously covered under Medicaid, such as low-income adults without children.
And that's the Medicaid expansion on the low setting. Before 2014, states were allowed to opt-in early for a 40% funding boost from the federal government; starting in 2014, that federal input jumps to somewhere in the 90th percentile.
| Related: Rick Scott Continues To Punish Florida For Electing Him |
Kliff points out that the number of states opting in early is equal to the number of states vowing to reject—or, in the case of America's Wang, officially rejecting—the Medicaid expansion program. Quoting Scott Lemiuex: "To be clear, Scott's position is that poor people should be stricken with debilitating illnesses and in some cases die unnecessarily because he has a (really dumb) political point to make."
We now not only have a hypothetical negative—people might die—to attach to Scott's rejection of the Medicaid funds, but a palpable positive. There are 400,000 people already insured in California thanks to this program. There could be 400,000 insured in Florida right at this very moment. But there aren't. Take it up with Rick Scott.
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