Texas Gov. Rick Perry has loudly exclaimed his state would not participate in the expansion of Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Now, several of the Lone Star State's most populous counties are exploring options to expand their rolls on their own, The Washington Post reported.
The rebellion stems from the fact that these mostly urban counties already have offered some form of insurance coverage to households up to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, or about $57,000 for a family of three, according to the Post. It costs about $2 billion a year to fund those programs, and the aricle noted these counties could counteract those costs by participating in the ACA's Medicaid expansion.
Officials in Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, the state's second most-populous city, said the plan has support from many officials, and that colleagues in Dallas, Tarrant and Harris Counties are also receptive to such a plan, according to the Post.
Other states with GOP leadership such as Florida have said they would not expand Medicaid even if the costs were nominal. According to the News Service of Florida, expanding Medicaid under ACA would cost a relatively modest $79.2 million in 2016, and would grow to $337.6 million by 2022-2023.
The Texas plan is not a slam dunk, however. The Post reported that to have individual counties opt in, it would require approval of both the federal government and the Texas Legislature.
For more:
- here's the Washington Post article
- read the News Service of Florida article