SCRANTON TIMES-TRIBUNE: …Medicaid is a federal-state program. The law calls for the federal government to pay for 100 percent of the expansion costs for two years and 90 percent thereafter – a tremendous deal for state governments. But Gov. Tom Corbett appears willing to forgo that coverage expansion, the increase in health care access it would create for low-income workers and families, and the $4 billion a year it would infuse into the state’s economy…
There are political implications, as well. The ACA is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, the beginning of a gubernatorial election year. Mr. Corbett, who joined other Republican governors in the failed federal lawsuit against the ACA, has low poll numbers and can’t afford to alienate his conservative base by embracing “Obamacare.”…
Taxes and health insurance premiums inevitably reflect the costs of uncompensated care. Rather than having Pennsylvania taxpayers help pay for better health care access and healthier hospitals in other states, the governor should cut in Pennsylvania on the good deal… (more)
