It Is Time to Expand Medicaid Coverage in South Carolina

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It is Time to Expand Medicaid Coverage in South Carolina When it validated the constitutionality of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2012, the United States Supreme Court also ruled that states could decide for themselves whether or not to expand their Medicaid programs (Sonfield, 2012). Predictably, South Carolina said no. The Palmetto State’s decision not to expand Medicaid in concert with the Affordable Care Act was wrong, and it is time to correct that mistake. The leadership’s decision not to expand Medicaid leaves between 300,000 and 400,000 South Carolinians without health insurance (South Carolina Medical Association, 2012). The stated intent of the Affordable Care Act, pejoratively dubbed “Obamacare” by its critics, was to put affordable health care within reach of more of the 40 million Americans who lacked health insurance. The law’s grand design included an assumption that states would expand their Medicaid programs, since the federal government would pay 100 percent of the expansion costs through 2016, and 90 percent thereafter. But in demonstrating its traditional mistrust of Washington’s promises, Columbia declined the offer and, in the process, left thousands of low-income workers without the means to obtain health coverage, either because they cannot afford the premiums or because their employers do not provide it. (Advisory Committee, 2013). Ironically, in a state where the median annual income is $44,600, South Carolina’s working poor earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid; however, they would be covered under the ACA model (Hailsmaier and Blasé, 2010). While voluntary, non-compliance with Obamacare’s strategy will cost the state. South Carolina’s share of the nation’s ACA-engineered Med... ... middle of paper ... ...org/news/support-medicaid-expansion-in-south-carolina South Carolina Medical Association. (2012, August 8). Medicaid Expansion: What is best for South Carolina? Retrieved May 16, 2014, from South Carolina Medical Association: https://www.scmedical.org/newsroom/article/medicaid-expansion-what-is-best-for-south-carolina The Daily Briefing. (2013). Where Each State Stands on Medicaid Expansion. Advisory Board Company. Wenger, Y. (2008, August 28). Tax: SC Cigarette Tax Increase . Retrieved May 17, 2014, from Smokers Club, Inc.: http://www.smokersclubinc.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1994 Zaleski, G. (2014, April 1). South Carolina’s health costs continue to rise following decision not to expand Medicaid. Retrieved May 17, 2014, from MEDCITY News: http://medcitynews.com/2014/04/south-carolinas-health-costs-continue-rise-following-decision-expand-medicaid/

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