Kasich joins 5 other GOP governors supporting Medicaid expansion

Including Gov. John Kasich’s decision earlier this week, six Republican governors have now endorsed the Medicaid expansion provision of the ACA that was made optional by a Supreme Court ruling last year (Source: “Republican governors embrace part of health-care law,” Washington Post, Feb. 7, 2013).

Along with Gov. Kasich, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder also announced this week that he would support the Medicaid eligibility expansion. Those moves follow an announcement last month by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

“It’s a tipping point,” Bill Pierce, a former Health and Human Services official under George W. Bush, said. “You’ve now got a real conservative state, a battleground state and a blue state all signed up. If you’re a Republican governor thinking about this, you fit into one of those categories.”

Governors in 22 states and the District of Columbia have now announced that they support Medicaid expansion, and 17 others are deliberating. The remaining 11, all with Republican governors, have said no.