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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Texas And Other Republican States To Deny Medicaid

Joseph Krassenstein |
December 4, 2012 | 5:51 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

Many GOP States Are Denying Obamacare/ Creative Commons
Many GOP States Are Denying Obamacare/ Creative Commons
Starting on Jan. 1, 2014, President Barack Obama’s health care law will expand Medicaid to all states, if they choose to take it.

Medicaid already covers nearly 60 million low-income and disabled people, however differs significantly from state to state. 

Under the new health care law, Medicaid will cover people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, equivalent to about $15,400 a year per person.

However, many states are becoming more cost-conscious and are wary to take the deal.

States including Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina are turning down Medicaid.

According to Urban Institutes, nearly 2.8 million people would remain uninsured if states deny Medicaid. Texas already constitutes half that number.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has refused to expand the Medicaid program, showing his continued opposition to Obamacare, though around 2 million low-income Texans would benefit from the insurance.

The expansion of Medicaid would cost Texas $5.8 billion between 2014 and 2019. The Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin reported that Texas would get an additional $76.2 billion in federal matching funds if they choose to enroll. 

In July, Perry said that he would not “be party to socializing health care and bankrupting my state in direct contradiction to our Constitution and our founding principles of limited government.” 

Many Texans are saying that Perry’s opposition to the health care expansion directly contradicts his professed Christian faith. Many people are beginning to voice their disagreement.

“Churches care about the health of the community, whether it’s related to people not being able to afford insurance coverage or not getting access to the care they need,” Mary Lou Hoffman, a spokeswoman for Dallas Area Interfaith, told the Dallas Morning News

On Sunday, the Dallas Area Interfaith organized nearly 300 people into the Christ’s Foundry United Methodist Church in Dallas to launch a petition drive against Perry’s decision. 

“We’re organizing teams to teach people about Medicaid, get them to sign petitions and do neighborhood walks,” said Mike Rosen, a member of the organization. He said the expansion makes sense for many Texans for “moral, ethical, and financial reasons.” 

This outcry is not the first time organizations have spoken out against the Republican’s opposition to Obamacare. This year, more than 100 national, state and local faith leaders asked GOP governors to support Medicaid expansion, hailing it a “pro-life” program.  

If states like Texas do not accept, it will hurt poor and struggling families and the poorest will have no other options for health insurance, Medicaid is their only option. 

 

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage on Obamacare here.

Reach Staff Reporter Joseph Krassenstein here.



 

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