[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 936]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           MEDICAID EXPANSION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I can't resist saying the Second Amendment 
right does not preclude background checks to protect the very people we 
represent.
  Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court ruling last summer on the Affordable 
Care Act was a victory for all American families--and small businesses 
especially--by ensuring that our constituents have access to 
affordable, quality health insurance.
  The ruling preserved the integrity of Medicaid partnerships between 
the States and the Federal Government, giving Governors the option of 
accepting the Federal Government's generous offer to pay the cost for 
expanding coverage of low-income residents who might otherwise not have 
access to health insurance.
  Though some of my Republican colleagues remain opposed to the act, 
I'm pleased to see Republican Governors, including those from Nevada, 
New Mexico, Arizona, and now Governor Kasich in Ohio, putting policy 
ahead of politics to support this expansion of Medicaid. Those 
Governors have acknowledged that they were motivated not only by the 
desire to reduce the number of uninsured, but also by the compelling 
business case.
  Medicaid expansion is part of the vision for a new continuum of 
coverage that will begin in 2014, when the major provisions from the 
Affordable Care Act take effect. This will fill the longstanding gap in 
Medicaid coverage for low-income adults by expanding eligibility for 
those earning up to 133 percent of the Federal poverty level.
  As of 2011, there were 48 million nonelderly uninsured in America. As 
an incentive for States to expand coverage for those folks, the ACA 
commits the Federal Government to paying 100 percent of the additional 
costs of covering them, and after 2016, 90 percent thereafter.
  I wrote the Republican Governor of my State and the General Assembly 
membership urging them to join us in extending this critical health 
care coverage. The Virginia General Assembly is currently divided on 
the matter, but I was encouraged last week by the announcement from our 
Republican Lieutenant Governor, who said:

       There is no State better prepared to move forward with this 
     reform and the coverage expansion of it than the Commonwealth 
     of Virginia.

  Like me, Lieutenant Governor Bolling understands the economic 
benefits for Virginia. Expanding Medicaid will help 300,000 Virginians 
get access to health care coverage who currently have none and 
invariably wind up accessing health care through the most expensive 
portal there is: the emergency room. The cost of that uncompensated 
care is, of course, borne today by hospitals and those who are insured 
through their premiums.
  The Governor's Advisory Commission on Health Reform said expanding 
Medicaid, coupled with other reforms in the act, would reduce 
uncompensated care in Virginia by more than half. Under the Affordable 
Care Act, Virginia would receive more than $9.2 billion in the first 5 
years. A recent State analysis shows that during that same time period 
Virginia would actually save $300 million by expanding coverage. And 
Virginia's costs for the first 10 years, now estimated at $137 million, 
are considerably less than originally estimated and a great return on 
that investment.
  Time is running out, and our residents cannot afford for States to 
miss this opportunity. In fact, I believe they would be making such a 
historic mistake that I am proposing an additional incentive to help 
motivate those Governors who might not yet still be convinced.
  This week I introduced the Medicaid Expansion Incentive Act. This 
simple bill adds a ``use it or lose it'' provision. If a State doesn't 
want to expand Medicaid coverage, then we will ship those dollars to 
other States who are willing to partner with us to help defray costs 
and expand their coverage.

                              {time}  1040

  Just so the residents of a particular State are fully aware of how 
their Governor's decision is affecting them, my bill will require HHS 
to publicize the list of States that are not partnering with us and 
giving up this opportunity and the amount of money their Governor has 
left on the table and the number of uninsured people who will thereby 
not be covered.
  The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, and residents of any 
State should not be penalized because of their Governor's ideological 
agenda. The choices we face are momentous. Will we move forward 
together to implement these historic reforms and reverse the 
unsustainable trajectory of spiraling prices, or will we let slip this 
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help those most in need, realize 
savings, and spur economic activity? I hope more Republican Governors, 
including my own, will follow the leader of their colleagues elsewhere 
and put their citizens' health ahead of partisan orthodoxy.

                          ____________________