Virginia Senate Democrats want GOP counterparts to offer Medicaid expansion alternatives

May 7 2014

The state's Democratic legislators called on GOP lawmakers to present an alternative proposal -- one that was promised, they say, months ago to close the so-called coverage gap. Meanwhile, a Kansas study quantifies the impact that not expanding Medicaid might have on the health of state residents.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch: Senate Democrats Urge GOP To Offer Health Proposal
Virginia Senate Democrats on Monday called on House Republicans to produce the alternative health care proposal they promised months ago to close the coverage gap. "In a January Op-Ed, you argued that it would be a mistake to expand Medicaid -- but you also said that 'Virginia should look at alternative ways to help those in the Obamacare coverage gap,'" writes Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, the Democratic Caucus chairman, in a letter to House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford. "It is now May. Four months have passed, and I feel compelled to ask: What are the alternatives you've offered?" (Nolan, 5/6).

Kansas Health Institute News Service: Expanding Medicaid Would Prevent Cancer Deaths In Kansas
The decision by state officials not to expand Medicaid eligibility could deny thousands of uninsured Kansans access to life-saving cancer treatments, according to a recent report by researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center. "There are some people who will die of cancer because we're not able to screen them or provide them with the prevention services they need," said Dr. Edward Ellerbeck, director of the Cancer Control and Population Health Program at the medical center. The report, issued in March, estimates that without Medicaid expansion about 40,000 uninsured Kansans may not get necessary screenings for colorectal, breast and cervical cancers or get the medical help they need to quit smoking (McLean, 4/5).