[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12718]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        STATE MEDICAID EXPANSION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Johnson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, as cochair of the State 
Medicaid Expansion Caucus, I rise this morning to talk about how 
important expanding Medicaid is for my State and for the country.
  First, I want to thank my good friend from North Carolina, 
Congressman
G. K. Butterfield, for agreeing to cochair this caucus. He is the 
driving force behind Medicaid expansion, that portion of the Affordable 
Care Act. There are few people in Congress who understand this issue as 
well as G. K. does, and it means a lot that he would agree to work on 
this issue with me.
  I am also proud that 33 Members of Congress have joined the State 
Medicaid Expansion Caucus. We want to have an ongoing conversation 
about why it is so critical that every State expand Medicaid. Medicaid 
expansion is a choice that States can make because of the Supreme 
Court's ruling. However, when the Court struck down the requirement and 
gave States the choice to expand Medicaid, it did not strike the facts 
that make Medicaid expansion the correct budgetary, economic, health, 
and, yes, moral choice. Twenty-seven States, a majority of the States 
of this great country, looked at the facts and made the choice to help 
their people become healthier and therefore better able to lead 
productive lives. Expanding Medicaid in those States provided health 
coverage to approximately 10.5 million people who otherwise wouldn't 
have had it, according to Families USA.
  Despite the political winds that swirl around the Affordable Care 
Act, Medicaid expansion should be a bipartisan issue. The Republican 
Governor of Arizona, for instance, pushed her State legislature to 
expand Medicaid because Governor Brewer and her allies knew that 
expansion would allow the program to help 300,000 low-income Arizonans 
who otherwise would not have had health coverage.
  In Ohio, that State's Republican Governor expanded Medicaid, 
grounding the move in his faith and his belief that Ohioans should 
benefit from their Federal tax dollars. Because of the Governor's 
action, Ohio will see $13 billion from the Federal Government over the 
next 7 years to cover those newly eligible Medicaid recipients, and 
approximately 366,000 Ohio residents are thus eligible for coverage 
beginning this year. According to some estimates, as many as 789,000 
people will ultimately benefit from the Governor's decision.
  In California, almost 3 million people have benefited by getting 
access to health care when that State expanded Medicaid. These are just 
a few of the success stories.
  The Federal Government will cover 100 percent of the cost of 
expanding Medicaid during the first 3 years, and 90 percent of the cost 
for the duration of the program in every State. Like in Ohio, this 
investment will bring billions of Federal tax dollars back into the 
State, which will help States develop their health care infrastructures 
and, thus, improve those States' economies. It will also help low-
income Americans access our health care system. We must remember that 
the people who will benefit from expanding Medicaid are no less 
deserving of health care than anyone else.
  According to a recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
report, States that have expanded Medicaid have seen 17 percent more 
people enrolled in the Medicaid and CHIP programs. Those are children 
across the country who now have the option for a healthier life. 
Unfortunately, millions of low-income Americans are being denied health 
care by their State legislators and Governors. They are being punished 
for being poor and for living where they do.
  The New York Times recently ran a story entitled, ``In Texarkana, 
Uninsured and on the Wrong Side of a State Line.'' It describes the 
harsh realities for those who live on the wrong side of the State line. 
The author wrote:

       Texarkana is perhaps the starkest example of how President 
     Obama's health care law is altering the economic geography of 
     the country. The poor living in the Arkansas half of the town 
     won access to a government benefit worth thousands of dollars 
     annually, yet nothing changed for those on the Texas side of 
     the State line.

  In my home State of Georgia, expanding Medicaid would mean access to 
health care for 684,000 people, according to the Center on Budget and 
Policy Priorities. My Governor reacted to this news by signing a bill 
eliminating his authority to expand Medicaid. I can't think of anything 
better than the State of Georgia going ahead and insuring our people 
with Medicaid.

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