Dive Brief:
- Wyoming's Senate voted 19 to 11 on Friday to reject Medicaid expansion under the ACA for the state's low-income residents.
- The state's House of Representatives pulled a companion bill from committee afterward because "it would be an exercise in futility," according to Elaine Harvey, chair of the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee.
- Some of the opponents, who had made campaign promises not to expand Medicaid, said they were concerned about facing issues with implementation and with increasing the federal debt.
Dive Insight:
The issue of Medicare expansion has proven volatile in Republican-led states, with support sometimes appearing where least expected.
Republican Wyoming Governor Matt Mead had been staunchly opposed to expansion until this past November, when he said it would help the state and more than 17,000 low-income residents.
"I believe that Wyoming's working poor need healthcare coverage," he said in a statement after the bill was voted down. "We must recognize what healthcare means to individuals and to our economy."
Indiana did succeed last week in expanding Medicare under the leadership of a conservative Republican governor, bringing health insurance to an estimated 350,000 additional residents.