Va. governor examining ways to expand Medicaid by executive action

In related news, The Oklahoman reports that Mercy health system is blaming states' decisions to not expand the low-income health care program as the reason it is planning layoffs, and KHN details Michigan's expansion efforts.

The New York Times: Virginia Governor May Try To Expand Medicaid On His Own
Gov. Terry McAuliffe has lost his battle with the legislature over Medicaid expansion, an enormous retreat from the high expectations he set for a liberal agenda. However, he is thought to be studying how to press the issue by executive action -- a legally and politically uncertain course (Gabriel, 6/10).

The Oklahoman: No Medicaid Expansion Reason For Mercy's Plans To Lay Off Up To 300 Workers In Four States
Operators of the Mercy health system are looking to lay off up to 300 people in four states this month, citing less money coming into the health care system because of reductions in insurance payments and a lack of Medicaid expansion in most of the states the hospital system serves. ... The Mercy health system includes 33 acute-care hospitals, four heart hospitals, two children's hospitals, two rehab hospitals, one orthopedic hospital, nearly 700 clinic and outpatient facilities, 40,000 employees and more than 2,100 Mercy clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma (Cosgrove, 6/9).

Kaiser Health News: Michigan To Reward Medicaid Enrollees Who Take 'Personal Responsibility'
Delayed by state lawmakers, Michigan did not expand Medicaid until the day after the federal online insurance exchange closed March 31 -- a move advocates feared would undermine signups. Turns out, enrollment is exceeding expectations, which has pleased officials who seek to make the state among the first in the nation to add a heavy dose of "personal responsibility" to the federal-state entitlement program (Galewitz, 6/11).