Three southern governors tout Medicaid expansion benefits

Also, a report says Wisconsin is leaving more than $206 million on the table by not fully expanding its Medicaid program, BadgerCare.

The Associated Press: Governors Tout Benefits Of Medicaid Expansion
Three governors who expanded Medicaid under the federal health care overhaul said Saturday there are economic and moral arguments for embracing a key part of the law, despite strong political opposition in their southern states. The Democratic governors of Arkansas, Kentucky and Maryland touted the success their states have seen in cutting the number of uninsured residents during a panel discussion at the Southern Governors' Association annual meeting in downtown Little Rock. Arkansas and Kentucky had the highest drop in the number of uninsured residents in a Gallup poll released earlier this month (DeMillo, 8/16).

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Loses $206M By Not Fully Expanding BadgerCare
Wisconsin taxpayers would have saved $206 million over two years -- 73 percent more than estimated -- if officials had fully expanded its main health care program for the poor under the federal Affordable Care Act, a new nonpartisan report shows. If officials decide to change course and expand the program in the next state budget, state taxpayers would save another $261 million to $315 million through June 2017, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The bureau serves the Legislature and is widely respected by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. In all, the state could have saved more than $500 million over 3-1/2 years, the report shows. That would have allowed Gov. Scott Walker and legislators to put more money toward schools or roads or cut taxes more deeply than they did over the last year (Marley, 8/17).