Birds on the Brain

thenewrepublic:

Refusing Medicaid funds: Stupid decision, or stupidest decision?

“Basic decency ought to be reason enough for all states, even those with Republican governors, to participate in the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid. The well-being of literally millions of low-income Americans is at stake. But if the humanitarian aspects of the Medicaid expansion don’t appeal to Rick Perry, Rick Scott, and their allies, then economic self-interest really should.

As many of us have been saying, the Medicaid expansion an incredibly good deal, with the federal government picking up nearly the entire cost of the expansion, including 100 percent of the bill for the first three years. According to the Congressional Budget Office, participating in the expansion would require states to increase Medicaid spending by less than 3 percent between 2014 and 2022.”

— Jonathan Cohn, “Turning Down Medicaid: Even More Stupid Than It Seems”