Medicaid expansion still in play in Ohio, New Hampshire

Some Ohio lawmakers push back against Gov. John Kasich's move to bypass the legislature to expand Medicaid, and New Hampshire legislators plan to meet next month to hammer out what leaders hope will be a bipartisan deal to expand the state-federal program for the poor. Meanwhile, likely Virginia voters support expansion 51 percent to 42 percent with the divide falling along party lines, according to a new poll.

The Associated Press: House Leader Questions Governor's Medicaid Request
The Ohio House speaker said he has concerns about whether the governor's move to get Medicaid expansion funding through a legislative panel and bypass the full General Assembly violates the Ohio Constitution. House Speaker William Batchelder told reporters Wednesday that he and more than 30 representatives have noted their concerns in a letter that will be part of the House's daily record (Sanner, 10/16).

The Washington Post: New Hampshire Will Hold Special Session On Medicaid Expansion
New Hampshire legislators will meet next month to hammer out what leaders hope will be a bipartisan agreement to expand Medicaid after the state's Executive Council voted Wednesday to allow Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) to call a special session (Wilson, 10/17).

The Richmond Times Dispatch: Poll Shows Divide On Medicaid
More likely Virginia voters support expanding Medicaid than not, with deep divides along party lines. Overall, likely voters support expansion 51 percent to 42 percent, with 86 percent of Democrats in favor and 76 percent of Republicans opposed, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University. Independents oppose expansion 51 percent to 42 percent (Meola, 10/17).

The Texas Tribune: Without Medicaid Expansion, 1 Million Texans Lack Insurance Options
Texas has the greatest number of poor, uninsured adults who will fall in a "coverage gap" created by states that chose not to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, according to a report released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. One million of the 5.2 million Americans who won't have health insurance options available under the new law reside in Texas, according to the report (Aaronson, 10/16).

CQ HealthBeat: Some States Get Delayed Info On New Medicaid Enrollees
The flow of information between Obama Administration officials and state Medicaid agencies inched forward on Wednesday as states began receiving overdue demographic data from the federal exchange website for residents who might qualify for Medicaid. With enrollment in the health law marketplaces in its third week, state officials are waiting for the information they need to figure out how many people who apply through healthcare.gov might qualify for Medicaid (Adams, 10/16).