Va. small business owners press GOP to expand Medicaid

More than 400 have signed a letter to Virginia's House speaker asking Republicans to drop their opposition to the effort. Meanwhile, Utah's governor says he is encouraged about his state's prospects for its plan after talks with federal officials, and a Florida senator is trying to find a way around the logjam there.

The Associated Press: Va. Small Business Owners Advocate For Medicaid
A group of small business owners want Virginia House Republicans to drop their opposition to expanding publicly funded health care to low-income residents. Lee Russell, a butcher from Fredericksburg is scheduled to deliver a letter Wednesday signed by more than 400 current and former small business owners to House Speaker William J. Howell (4/16).

The Associated Press: Utah Gov.: Medicaid Negotiations Moving Forward 
Utah's low-income residents are a step closer to buying private insurance through federal subsidies, Gov. Gary Herbert said Wednesday. Herbert, who proposes a state Medicaid alternative to help insure 110,000 residents in the private market instead of the government program, said he's encouraged by talks with federal officials earlier this week (Knox, 4/16).

Miami Herald: Sen. Bill Nelson Seeks Local Solution To Expand Medicaid In Florida
Expanding Medicaid to cover thousands of uninsured Floridians has mostly been ignored by Republicans during this year's legislative session, but U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, is making a last-ditch effort to get it done. Medicaid is a joint state-federal program, though most of the expansion called for under the Affordable Care Act would be funded by Washington (Mitchell, 4/16).