PITTSBURG POSTS-GAZETTE: …Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, in a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, said “the Medicaid program in Pennsylvania is on an unsustainable path … I firmly believe we can serve more of our citizens in Pennsylvania, but only if we are given the independence and flexibility to do so.” …
Relaxing the income standards would allow more people to join the program starting in 2014, but because of the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on “Obamacare,” the Medicaid expansion is now optional, not mandatory, for the states…
Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government will pay for 100 percent of the extra Medicaid costs for three years, and scale back to 90 percent thereafter. Mr. Corbett said the 10 percent state share will cost Pennsylvania an extra $4 billion through 2021, but for many governors — including some Republican ones — the 90-10 cost split was a good deal… (more)
