It's unfortunate that this is what it takes to finally do the right thing, but it's better late than never I suppose.
State lawmakers in Oklahoma are reconsidering their opposition to expanding Medicaid under Obamacare because the state's healthcare system is near the breaking point.
If the state legislature doesn’t act, the state’s Medicaid agency says it will have no choice but to cut doctor reimbursements by 25 percent. Nico Gomez, CEO of the state Medicaid agency, warned state lawmakers that such cuts would be “cataclysmic” for the 1 in 5 low-income Oklahomans who are currently enrolled in Medicaid. [...]
The cuts would put rural health care providers like McCurtain Memorial Hospital out of business. “A 25 percent cut [to Medicaid] would shutter our doors for good, leaving 33,000 people without access to health care,” CEO Jahni Tapley told the Houston Chronicle.
How would Medicaid expansion under Obamacare save the state's healthcare system?
By providing a huge influx of federal cash money. The federal government covers at least 90 percent of the cost of expanding Medicaid.
To simply say the government will cover almost all of the cost way may seem abstract, but what does that really mean? It means the industry, from doctors to pharmacies, will be paid for treating hundreds of thousands of more people who otherwise wouldn't be covered.
Every state should expand Medicaid under Obamacare because it would be good for their state's economy, it's not just a moral decision.