According to Bloomberg, the report by Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. estimates the cost to employers to be $1 billion. Meanwhile, other news outlets report on state-level decisions and developments related to the expansion.
Bloomberg: Refusal To Expand Medicaid May Cost Employers $1 Billion
Governors who refuse to expand their Medicaid programs for the poor may cost employers in their states as much as $1.3 billion in federal fines, a study found. A clause in the 2010 health-care overhaul penalizes some employers when their workers aren’t able to obtain affordable medical coverage through the company. Employers can avoid those fees if their workers qualify for Medicaid as part of an expansion that as many as 22 states have rejected, according to a report today by Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc (Wayne, 3/13).
The Washington Post’s WonkBlog: ‘We’re In An Analytical Mode’: Ohio Weighs The Obamacare Medicaid Expansion
You probably haven’t heard of Ron Amstutz. He was raised on a dairy farm in Ohio and now lives in the city of Wooster (Population: 26,139). He is on the board of the Orrville Area Boys’ and Girls’ Club and a member of the Wooster Rotary Club. Turns out, though, that Ron Amstutz has one of the most important roles right now in implementing the Affordable Care Act: He leads a small committee that will get the first say on whether Ohio expands Medicaid to 684,000 residents (Kliff, 3/13).
The Associated Press: Mo. Senate, House Panels Defeat Medicaid Expansion
Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature dealt a triple defeat Wednesday to a Medicaid expansion plan as Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon continued to travel the state trying to rally support for an enlarged health-care program for lower-income adults. In successive party-line votes, the Senate Appropriations Committee defeated legislation authorizing a Medicaid expansion after listening to more than two dozen witnesses in favor of it. Then the House Budget Committee defeated two amendments that would have added the Medicaid expansion to the next state budget (Lieb, 3/13).
READ MORE: Report Estimates Employer Costs From States’ Refusal To Expand Medicaid – Kaiser Health News.