States use waivers to expand Medicaid their way

Jan 27 2014

Also in the news is the Missouri Chamber of Commerce's hiring of retired Republican Sen. Kit Bond to help the state's Democratic governor lobby GOP state lawmakers to expand Medicaid.

Stateline: Medicaid Waivers' Role In Innovation, Coverage Expansion
When the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 ruled that states could decide for themselves if they would expand Medicaid eligibility, many thought states were left with a yes or no proposition. Simple. Except nothing is ever simple when it comes to either the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid, the federal-state partnership that provides health care to America's poor. Some states want to expand Medicaid, but in their own way. Lucky for them, there is a process that enables them to do so (Ollove, 1/27).

St. Louis Public Radio: Bond To Lobby For Missouri To Expand Medicaid
Retired U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., is jumping into the Jefferson City debate over Medicaid expansion – and he's on the side of  Gov. Jay Nixon and other expansion supporters. Bond, a former two-term governor, has been hired as a lobbyist by the Missouri Chamber to try to persuade fellow Republicans in the General Assembly to drop their opposition and agree to take the federal aid which would cover all the expansion's costs for three years and at least 90 percent thereafter (Mannies, 1/24).