Dive Brief:
- While Republican-led states have largely turned down the Medicaid expansion available within the ACA, hospitals in those states are fighting hard to change lawmakers minds.
- To date, 26 states, as well as Washington, D.C., have decided to expand their Medicaid programs, and Indiana and Pennsylvania are considering expansion after 2014, according to Becker's Hospital Review.
- One state where change is possible is Virginia, where Democrat Terry McAuliffe replaced Republican Bob McDonnell as governor. The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association is lobbying in the statehouse aggressively to convince lawmakers that Medicaid expansion is needed for the state's 107 hospitals avoid major losses.
Dive Insight:
There's a lot at stake for hospitals in convincing legislators to expand Medicaid. However, red states on the whole seem firmly committed to rejecting Medicaid expansion, and it's hard to believe that even the most fervent lobbying efforts by hospitals are going to change this direction. Still, given the stakes involved, I doubt red-state hospitals will cease their lobbying efforts, as a broad Medicaid expansion could do much for their bottom line.