A poll released yesterday reveals that expanding the Medicaid program as called for in the Affordable Care Act has the solid support—a 62 percent favorable response—of a broad mix of residents in the five southern states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
In South Carolina, 65.2% of respondents supported Medicaid expansion for our state.
A similar poll done by Winthrop University in April 2013 found slightly more than half of South Carolinians say they support Medicaid expansion.
Despite having the support of most South Carolinians, the South Carolina Legislature has refused to accept the federal funding for Medicaid expansion this year. This effectively means that our Governor and state legislators who are resisting the Medicaid expansion are out-of-step with their constituents. Those of us fighting for the expansion understand that not only will broader Medicaid coverage save lives and end unnecessary suffering, it will also stimulate job growth and the economy in our state. Declining the Medicaid expansion now means that even as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation begins, over 200,000 people in our state will continue to have no health insurance coverage. We will and must continue to fight to close that gap.
Filed under: Affordable Care Act, Community Health, Health Care, healthcare reform, Medicaid, South Carolina | Tagged: ACA, medicaid, Obamacare | Leave a Comment »
