Two Americas for the Poor: Tracking Political Division on Medicaid

Bloomberg News writers Alex Nussbaum, Alison Vekshin and Gigi Douban offer a timely article, available on the MSN website, titled “Obama Medicaid Split Creates Two Americas for the Poor.” The article opens by contrasting the impact of states deciding whether to expand the availability of Medicaid, using the experiences of two women, one in California and one in Alabama, each facing health care crises:

“The women’s fates are the consequence of a political debate that’s divided the U.S. roughly along party lines: Democratic-led states have expanded Medicaid programs for the poor under the health law; most Republicans have refused. While the law’s online exchanges draw more scrutiny, it’s Medicaid that may determine the health of millions of Americans. The expansion is one of the twin pillars created by the law to supply medical care to the nation’s uninsured, complementing subsidies for private insurance.”

The article also has useful links to health policy and economics studies, as well as commentary by political leaders, including Pennsylvania’s former Governer Ed Rendell.