Two states have halted Medicaid expansion plans, and a fight over the public option has been put on hold.
The coronavirus pandemic has derailed Democrats’ efforts in statehouses across the country to give more Americans government-backed health coverage.
“When your house is on fire, you’re not focused on building another wing,” said Democratic health strategist Chris Jennings, who’s advising Biden’s campaign. The Colorado bill’s prospects next year will depend on Democrats holding their narrow two-seat majority in the state Senate — and whether the public sentiment is strongly in hospitals’ favor after the pandemic.
“Public option ideas are going to face new hurdles,” said James Capretta, a fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. “Legislators are going to feel a lot of political pressure from hospitals that say now is not the time to move more of our patient base into a regulated payment system.”
In Oklahoma, which has the nation's second-highest uninsured rate, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday called off his plans to expand Medicaid on July 1. The move came a week after Stitt vetoed a plan for financing the expansion, noting that Medicaid is facing greater strain than expected since the coronavirus emerged. Still, there’s a chance Oklahoma voters green-light expansion next month through a ballot referendum, though the coverage likely wouldn’t take effect this year.
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