Now that the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) gives states the right to not participate in Medicaid expansion, if you live in a state with a conservative governor, you should pay particular attention to whether your state will take the federal funding.
Residents of Kansas and Virginia, for instance, should be watchful since their Republican governors, Sam Brownback and Bob McDonnell, respectively, have been outspoken about refusing ACA Medicaid funds. “I’ve heard them say they don’t want this expansion; it’s onerous. So it’s put up or shut up time,” says Bob Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, Alexandria, Va. “It’s very possible that some of these conservative states are not going to take the Medicaid expansion.”
So before you begin rewriting your office’s policy for taking Medicaid patients, check with the state house first.