Twenty-three states aren’t expanding Medicaid leaving 4.8 million without medical insurance.

[Bill USA]

... Democrats ... when you hear any Repugnants say "well, there's 5 million people who had insurance they liked and they can't afford it now because of Commie-Obamacare"

.... be sure to say to them: "Aside from the fact that these people had fake insurance that did not provide full coverage (like it did not provide for hospitalization if you got sick .." WHAT!?...NO HOSPITALIZATION??!?&quot ---- What about all the states with Republican Governors who are refusing to expand Medicaid, leaving 4.8 million unable to get insurance subsidies thru the ACA and who will be without ANY FUCKING MEDICAL INSURANCE BECAUSE YOU REPUGNANTS ARE DOING EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO MAKE OBAMACARES FAIL? EXPLAIN THAT TO ME, YOU FUCKING SCHMUCK...if you would please."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/17/twenty-three-states-arent-expanding-medicaid-heres-who-they-leave-behind/

Twenty-three states are currently not planning to move forward with the Medicaid expansion, which was meant to cover millions of low-income Americans. The population they leave behind is mostly young, minority, single adults, according to two new data briefs from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Their analysis is one of the most in-depth looks at the population that falls into this coverage gap, too poor to qualify for insurance subsidies (those are available only to those who earn above the poverty line, about $12,000 for an individual). They're also shut out of the traditional Medicaid program, which tends to cover low-income parents, children and those with disabilities.kff1



Kaiser estimates that approximately 4.8 million people will fall into this no man's land of health-care reform, where they do have the option to purchase private insurance on the individual market -- but would have to do so without any financial help from the government.

Three-quarters of those who will fall into this coverage gap are adults who do not have children. As Kaiser notes, this reflects the limitations on the current Medicaid program. While some states do use the publicly-funded program to cover low-income, single adults, that's the exception rather than the rule. Nine states currently offer coverage to adults, with income limits that range from 10 to 200 percent of the poverty line ($1,1490 to $22,980, respectively).
(more)

[NYC_SKP]

1. AND....When the citizens of these red states learn how screwed they are, the states will turn blue.

It's genius, really.

I wish they wouldn't have to wait, but that's what will happen.

They'll look to the 27 states that DID expand medicare and ask who to blame.

K/R

[rhett o rick]

3. I fear you are giving them too much credit. The rethugs will simply blame it on the

Democrats and they most likely will believe it.

[NYC_SKP]

4. The MSM won't help, but the truth is out there if we want to control the message.

Maybe it will take two years, but I'll be watching Kentucky as one of the dominoes to fall first.

[rhett o rick]

6. Well the Democratic Party needs to push the issue. Take out some ads. nm

[Iwillnevergiveup]

9. I have wished so many times

that Russ Feingold would do an Alan Grayson type comeback to the Senate. That was THE worst disappointment for me in that election. Wisconsin was always such a beautiful, progressive place. It's still beautiful....sigh.

[pennylane100]

5. Now I am going to ask a silly question that shows I was not paying attention

Can the people who live in states that do not expand medicaid still have access the insurance plans that are being offered under the Affordable Care Act. That would at least give them some choices.

[CottonBear]

8. They cannot afford insurance without subsidies.

They do not make enough to pay for non-subsidy federal health exchange premiums.

[indepat]

7. To those living in red states having redneck right-wing legislatures and state houses: enjoy all

the fruits of what the electorate have wrought upon you.

[Coyote_Bandit]

10. I am one of those throw aways

I am a full-time unpaid caregiver for a parent with dementia issues and am non-smoker in my 50's.

My annual ACA premium is larger than the meager income I do manage t somehow earn. Even though I qualify for Medicaid it is not available to me and tax credits are useless without a taxable income. I reall wish those tax credits could be carried forward so hat I could apply hem against future earnings. Seems fair since otherwise I am definitely seeing a much more negative impact from ACA.

FWIW, my monthly premiums went from about $370 to about $515. Better coverage. But my deductible is still quite high.

The only thing I got out of this is that I can't be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions or cancelled or priced out of the market if I am diagnosed with a chronic disease. That is not insignificant. But it is something I am paying for.

And I expect my premium to increase substantially next year. That is inevitable if younger healthier people continue to avoid enrolling and contributing their premium dollars to the risk pool. In some ways the success of the ACA is ar least partially dependent upon that.

[jsr]

11. In States That Don’t Expand Medicaid, Some Of The Uninsured May Still Get Help

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/August/12/income-projections-low-income-Obamacare-state-medicaid-marketplace-exchange.aspx

In States That Don’t Expand Medicaid, Some Of The Uninsured May Still Get Help
By Phil Galewitz
KHN Staff Writer
Aug 11, 2013

Experts say the key is for them to project their 2014 income to at least the federal poverty level, about $11,500 per person or $23,500 for a family of four.

That would entitle them to federal subsidies that would cover nearly all the cost of private coverage sold on new online insurance marketplaces set up by the federal health law. The subsidies are available on a sliding scale to people making between the poverty level and four times that amount.

Everyone applying for subsidies must estimate their 2014 income. For the poor, the difference between qualifying -- or not -- could be $1,000 or less a year. Since many rely on hourly or seasonal work, their incomes often fluctuate by a few thousand dollars each year. That's one reason why people often lose eligibility for Medicaid, the state federal insurance program for the poor.

While there are steep fines for knowingly lying on a government application for financial assistance, if someone merely miscalculates their income above the poverty level in 2014, and is later found to have made less than the poverty level, they won't have to pay any money back, according to the Treasury Department.