Medicaid expansion: Different states rely on different strategies

The decision-making process in West Virginia was long and involved, while the outcome of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's push for the expansion is still in flux. In Ohio, advocates are considering taking the proposal to the voters if the legislature won't pass it.

The Associated Press: Long, Vexing Process Led To W. Va. Medicaid Decision
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's decision to open Medicaid to more low-income West Virginians was reached neither quickly nor easily, administration officials say. The path to last week's announcement began in June, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal health care law (Messina, 5/7).

The Associated Press: Brewer Still Confident Expanded Medicaid Will Pass
Gov. Jan Brewer said Monday she remains confident her proposal to expand Medicaid to 300,000 additional poor Arizonans will be enacted despite a reluctant Legislature whose leaders are opposed to the plan. Brewer sidestepped a question about whether she would veto the state budget if it didn't include her plan, something her spokesman repeated just last week (Christie, 5/6).

Columbus Dispatch: Ballot Is Backup For Medicaid Expansion Plan
If Republican lawmakers won't pass Medicaid expansion, it could be up to Ohio voters. "We are beginning as of today. We will start reaching out and put together a coalition," said Scott Borgemenke, a veteran Republican operative who would lead an effort to extend insurance coverage for hundreds of thousands of poor Ohioans by getting voters to approve a constitutional amendment. ... Borgemenke, former chief of staff for Secretary of State Jon Husted, began a new job yesterday as senior vice president of advocacy for the Ohio Hospital Association. The hospitals are among the largest proponents of Gov. John Kasich's proposed Medicaid expansion (Candisky, 5/6).