Senators Call on State Governors to Expand Medicaid under Affordable Care Act

Press Release

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) today led a group of 20 senators in calling on state governors to expand Medicaid in their states under the Affordable Care Act. In a letter to the 18 governors who have yet to undertake the expansion, the senators urged the governors to put aside their political differences and expand the Medicaid program. By refusing to do so, these governors are denying millions of individuals access to life-saving health care and preventive health services. To date, approximately 6 million Americans are not getting the coverage they are eligible for under the Affordable Care Act because of these governors' refusal to expand Medicaid.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government provides funding to states that wish to expand their Medicaid programs. This funding is then used to pay local hospitals, doctors and other health care providers to administer care. By refusing this federal funding and choosing not to cover millions of eligible individuals, these 18 states stand to lose billions in new revenue with the increased use of health care systems.

The letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).

The letter was sent to Governors Robert Bentley (R-Ala.), Sean Parnell (R-Alaska), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), Butch Otter (R-Idaho), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Bobby Jindal (R-La.), Paul LePage (R-Maine), Phil Bryant (R-Mississippi), Dave Heineman (R-Neb.), Pat McCroy (R-N.C.), Mary Fallin (R-Okla.), Nikki Haley (R-S.C.), Dennis Daugaard (R-S.D.), Bill Haslam (R-Tenn.), Rick Perry (R-Texas), Scott Walker (R-Wis.), and Matt Mead (R-Wyo.).

"While the Affordable Care Act has expanded access to health care dramatically over the last year, there is a fundamental inequity playing out in states that have chosen to not expand the Medicaid program," the Senators wrote. "Denying Medicaid coverage--an incredibly important program that covers millions of Americans, including in your state--to millions of people who could be eligible is short-sighted. Your state's decision not to expand health coverage is creating two Americas: one where millions are benefiting from preventive care and covered treatments while local economies get stronger and healthier by the day; and another where patients continue to show up to emergency rooms without a way to pay and local economies fall further and further behind."

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