Gov. Terry Branstad (R-Iowa) confirmed he will not support an expansion of Medicaid in his state, instead requesting HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius grant a waiver to continue and enhance the state's IowaCare program, according to a report by the Des Moines Register.
Only a full expansion of Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would make states eligible for complete federal funding for three years of the added cost, gradually shrinking to 90 percent after that. In Iowa, that would add up to an estimated 150,000 more uninsured people, including those on IowaCare.
Gov. Branstad requested a waiver to extend IowaCare, a medical coverage program slated to expire at the end of the year and that supports 70,000 low-income residents at just two hospitals in the state.
Secretary Sebelius, who met with the governor last week, said expanding Medicaid would be less costly and help more uninsured people than IowaCare. She told the Des Moines Register, "If you just look at the facts, it just doesn't add up to take a position of opposition."
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Only a full expansion of Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would make states eligible for complete federal funding for three years of the added cost, gradually shrinking to 90 percent after that. In Iowa, that would add up to an estimated 150,000 more uninsured people, including those on IowaCare.
Gov. Branstad requested a waiver to extend IowaCare, a medical coverage program slated to expire at the end of the year and that supports 70,000 low-income residents at just two hospitals in the state.
Secretary Sebelius, who met with the governor last week, said expanding Medicaid would be less costly and help more uninsured people than IowaCare. She told the Des Moines Register, "If you just look at the facts, it just doesn't add up to take a position of opposition."
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