If the grade (A-F) criteria were limited to 1) pre-ACA Medicaid eligible percentage enrolled (more is better) and 2) acceptance of the ACA Medicaid expansion, guess which state is at the top of the heap and bottom.
To help you out, here’s the kff Medicaid expansion table by state.
Two states would have ranked #1 and #3 if they hadn’t rejected Medicaid expansion. So, they fall to #25 and #26.
About #50 — it’s a small state. And it gets a considerable amount of attention on leftie blogs. Favorable attention.
Would it surprise you to know that many of the states that rejected Medicaid expansion we’re scoring higher on Medicaid eligible and many states that accepted the expansion? IOW many states with the least to lose and the most to gain, rejected the expansion. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
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In dead last (Grade F) is Montana. Maybe if he were still Governor, Brian Schweitzer would have gotten the legislature to go along with the Medicaid expansion. However, with 21.7% of pre-ACA eligible Medicaid beneficiaries not enrolled, his eight year role as Montana’s executive is nothing to be proud of. Forty-nine other states did better; although with 20.6% eligible and not enrolled, Nevada has nothing to brag about.
In general, the “reddest” and poorest states were performing better than “blue” states. Oklahoma with only 4.5% not enrolled was at #3.
The worst “blue” state at 15.4% not enrolled and ranking #48 was — get ready for this one — New Jersey. Accepting the Medicaid expansion will catapult NJ to at least in the middle of the pack.
At 3.2% Maine was #1. Alas, they are currently stuck with a governor that vetoed the expansion.
The winner pre-ACA Medicaid unenrollment of 3.5% and approval of Medicaid expansion is — drum roll please — West Virginia. Ta dah! Still comfortable with federal socialism even if the residents have stopped voting for it.
Check it out in this cool interactive map.