Holdout states look to expand Medicaid as ObamaCare endures

Legislators in Maine, Virginia, Georgia, and Kansas are exploring the possibility of expanding Medicaid after the Affordable Care Act survived last week following the failure of a Republican-backed health-care bill, Vox reports.

"I'm not an activist or supporter [of ObamaCare] now, but I can see when things are working," explained Kansas state legislator Susan Concannon, a Republican. Maine Sen. Tom Saviello (R) added, "My own party is mad at me because I continue to pursue [Medicaid expansion], but we have to do something. I look at Franklin County, which I represent, and roughly 1,000 people would gain coverage there."

Nineteen states have yet to expand the program, and in Kansas, where the state Senate passed an expansion bill late Monday, there is still heavy pushback from many conservatives. "To expand ObamaCare when the program is in a death spiral is not responsible policy," a spokesperson for Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) said.

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