With President Obama’s arrival tonight in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, new Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) will greet the president as he arrives in the state to talk about Medicaid expansion and education issues.
Advertisement
President Obama told those gathered Thursday morning at a Baton Rouge high school that there must be criminal justice reform in the United States and it must be bipartisan.
“There are three things that are certain in life”, Obama said.
So far, seven states have expanded since the start of 2014 and would benefit from the President’s proposal: Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alaska, Montana, and Louisiana. Any state that expands Medicaid would receive three years of federal funding for the program.
President Obama on Thursday poured cold water on the prospect of first lady Michelle Obama running for president in the future. But some Republican governors opposed expansion as costly and unnecessary. States that wait until next year to expand won’t get the full 100 percent match to help them get their programs up and running.
As part of a trip meant to reinforce his State of the Union message, Obama highlighted the expansion here as a validation of the healthcare law, commonly called Obamacare, that he considers a signature achievement of his tenure.
The White House says that with Louisiana’s announcement, a majority (4.4 million people) of the uninsured Americans who could gain coverage from Medicaid expansion now live in states that have accepted expansion. The gap widens to an estimated $1.9 billion next year.
White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said it’s important for Obama to also visit states he didn’t win in 2008 or 2012.
Edwards signed an executive order Tuesday calling for the state Department of Health and Hospitals to make the changes necessary to begin expanding Medicaid.
Advertisement
Alker said although the proposal “is a sound idea” that “might entice some states” to expand, “it seems unlikely that Congress will pass this in 2016”. That appears unlikely considering Congress voted last week to repeal the Affordable Care Act, though the GOP critics did not muster enough support to override the president’s veto.
