First some good Medicaid news from Oregon via the AP:
Oregon approved taxes on hospitals, health insurers and managed care companies in an unusual special election Tuesday that asked voters — and not lawmakers — how to pay for Medicaid costs that now include coverage of hundreds of thousands of low-income residents added to the program’s rolls under the Affordable Care Act.
Measure 101 was passing handily in early returns Tuesday night. The single-issue election drew national attention to this progressive state, which aggressively expanded its Medicaid rolls under President Barack Obama’s health care reforms. Oregon now has one of the lowest rates of uninsured residents in the nation at 5 percent. About 1 million Oregonians — 25 percent — now receive health care coverage from Medicaid.
Oregon Live reports the measured passed by a significant margin:
Measure 101, which led 61 percent to 39 percent with returns partially tallied, was the only issue on the ballot.
This is a good revealed preference, along with the Maine Medicaid expansion vote that people value Medicaid.
Now one state over, Idaho is seeing some interesting news. Signatures are being collected to put Medicaid Expansion on the ballot. Public News Service has more:
Groups that want to expand Medicaid and cover 78,000 uninsured Idahoans have begun collecting signatures for a November ballot measure – despite other state level efforts to cover folks without health insurance…
To qualify for the November ballot, the initiative needs to get the signatures of 6 percent of registered voters in 18 districts – roughly 48,000 Idahoans – by May 1….
So if you live in Idaho, go talk to your neighbors and help out.
rikyrah
Every state without Medicaid should put it on the ballot in 2018
Thoroughly Pizzled
David, do we know what the remaining 5% uninsured population is like? How many are undocumented immigrants?
gratuitous
This ballot measure started out as a legislative bill that stood a very good chance of passing. It was detoured to a special election by a Republican legislator, Julie Parrish, who started a group called Stop Healthcare Taxes Committee. See what she did there? The “tax” is on big insurance and healthcare providers, but the committee name makes it sound like . . . well, not that. They didn’t mount much of a campaign that I was aware of, and the advertising was almost all in favor of Measure 101.
So good job, Oregon, in figuring out how to pay for something that everyone wants, and not listening to the taxophobes for a change.
MomSense
Of course our governor is obstructing our Medicaid expansion vote just as he did with ranked choice voting and numerous bond votes. We actually have been collecting signatures to people’s veto his block of ranked choice.
Every vote in every election matters. Hopefully we have learned our lesson about forfeiting elections.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
It really helped that Oregon’s Democratic Gov, Sens, institutions and activist groups all campaigned hard for this ballot measure. Thank you to everyone who worked to pass this!
Villago Delenda Est
Julie Parrish and Cedric Hayden are both vile GOP sacks of shit who need to be retired to a feed lot permanently.
This entire fiasco was an attempt to fuck over Oregonians on Medicare.
Odie Hugh Manatee
Oregonian here… four votes for Measure 101 came from this household and we’re all glad to see this pass! The Republicans in our state forced the ballot measure hoping that it would fail.
Instead, they failed.
Kelly
Healthcare providers came out in favor of the taxes. I suspect they prefer the current way costs are distributed and paid for to the unpredictable charity care of the pre-Obamacare era. Kinda hoping this leaves a bad smell around the Oregon R’s right on thru to Election Day.
Once again the poor, rural red counties mostly voted against a measure that they need most of all.
PhoenixRising
Here in New Mexico, something interesting is going on: We have Medicaid expansion covering adults below the floor for Exchange policies. This covered a shocking (18%? I can’t find the figure) share of our working adults 21-64 who don’t have employer coverage options. In 2011 we were #1 in uninsured working adults…now we don’t have any!
This morning our legislature is starting review on: Allowing anyone who is Exchange eligible to BUY Medicaid coverage, for an income-based premium.
We can’t take any action in 2018, because our Gov is a dupe of the oil industry & our laws can only change in odd years (look it up). But a memorial to fund a review of this idea creates an option for our next Governor to push through in the open session next January.
Seanly
My wife & I eagerly signed the petition to put Medicaid expansion on the Idaho ballot. We are covered through my employer, but we have a good friend who teaches piano. He makes too much for subsidies, but not enough to buy coverage. My wife even worked to get him a part-time job with her employer, St Luke’s Medical, which includes coverage even for part-timers (they pay more, but something’s better than nothing).
Daddio7
“A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”
George Bernard Shaw