Wyoming has become yet another state where a Republican governor’s effort to expand Medicaid has been defeated by his own Legislature.
On Friday, the Wyoming Senate shot down Gov. Matt Mead’s expansion plan, and a House committee then pulled its bill. The double whammy effectively killed the state’s chances of enacting the Obamacare option this year.
Lawmakers there acted just days after the Tennessee Legislature shot down an expansion proposal by Gov. Bill Haslam. Together, the two rejections diminish the momentum that Medicaid expansion supporters were enjoying last month, when Indiana Gov. Mike Pence won federal approval of his particular plan and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson agreed to extend that state’s “private option” program for 18 months. Both Pence and Hutchinson are also Republicans.
Few things in politics are more irritating than a Republican who plays into the “free federal money” canard. This Obamacare-induced expansion is progressive politics at its worst and any Republican going along with it should be excoriated. The party is already polluted with big government fetishists in Washington and the only saving grace in recent years has been the work many of its governors have been doing. Unfortunately, a lot of good work can be undone by foisting this expansion upon the people.
The Foundation For Government Accountability has been educating voters about the dangers of Medicaid expansion and deserves a lot of credit for helping to influence legislators in both Tennessee and Wyoming. FGA Senior Coalitions Director Kristina Ribali is currently in Montana doing the same and hoping to score another win.
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