House Dems calls on final 10 states to pass Medicaid expansion
What’s new: Three House Democrats on Thursday morning called on 10 states to extend access to Medicaid to almost two million Americans in the coverage gap.
Allow me to explain: The demand from Reps. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Hank Johnson of Georgia and Don Davis of North Carolina during a press call hosted by health care advocacy group Protect Our Care and follows the end of Medicaid’s continuous coverage requirement at the beginning of the month that ensured no one could be disenrolled from Medicaid during the public health emergency that ends on May 11.
North Carolina passed legislation last month that adopted the Medicaid expansion but must pass the state budget later this year to become official. The state became the 40th expansion state along with Washington DC.
The 10 states that have not implemented the Medicaid expansion: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming and Wisconsin.
April is Medicaid Awareness Month. The three leaders are co-chairs of the Medicaid Expansion Caucus.
What they’re saying: Davis said that North Carolina lawmakers and advocates making the case for the economic argument helped move this issue forward in his state.
“Leaders had to accept the merits of these economic arguments that are made and are important in terms of how we deliver care,” he said.
Cohen said that he would write to Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson — the trio known as the “Tennessee Three” who rose to national prominence in recent weeks after being targeted by state Republicans for leading — to “use their newfound political muscle” to push the legislature to pass expand Medicaid in their state.
What’s next: Davis said that he is working with Cohen and Johnson to draft legislation incentivizing other non-expansion states to expand coverage.
“I’ve had conversations with anyone who’s willing to listen to me,” Davis told Supercreator. “And at the end of the day, that’s why we continue to join forces [and] elevate Medicaid awareness not only during this month but until we can help all of the American people here that are trapped in this coverage gap.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans are expected to seek significant cuts to Medicaid and propose work requirements to receive benefits during negotiations on next year’s federal budget, which would put millions of Black and brown people, kids from low-income families and people with disabilities at risk.
