The Affordable Care Act mandated that states accepting federal money had to expand their Medicaid programs to include all uninsured people with incomes below 133 percent of the poverty level. That's a little less than $15,000. But the Supreme Court ruled last summer that states cannot be compelled to expand Medicaid coverage. The choice is up to the states themselves. So what should Nevada do?
GUESTS
Dr. Frank Nemec, Past President, Nevada State Medical Association
January Angeles, Senior Policy Analyst, The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Geoffrey Lawrence, Deputy Director of Policy, Nevada Policy Research Institute
Whatever the perceived need for Medicaid (which I would suggest is actually a *want* rather than a true need in many cases), we simply cannot afford it. The fact that someone else will supposedly pay for the expansion for a few years is totally irrelevant. Indeed, there is no such thing as "free", for someone, somewhere must pay for these things. And, I'll say it again, there is no money!Tom Hurst –Nov 16, 2012 18:15:58 PM
aFter having spent 9 weeks in Norway this year with my cousin who has lived there for 20 years, it is amazing to me that the U.S. continues to have a health care system that is tied to one's employment. Most countries who have figured out that this does not work (ie: most of the developed countries in the world) are completely baffled at why the U.S. does not divorce health care from the workplace and simply offer it through the taxation system. And, if you make more money at your job, you can purchase additional insurance.
Teresa Owens –Nov 16, 2012 09:27:08 AM
