FOX News White House correspondent Kristin Fisher has the latest on 'Special Report'
A key element of the ObamaCare law could hit ballots in at least four states – including the bellwether state of Florida – in 2022, which would be one-third of the non-expansion states.
Mississippi, South Dakota and Wyoming also face state constitutional amendments on the ballot to expand Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care program for the low income. In recent years, Medicaid ballots initiatives prevailed by the narrowest of voter margins after state legislatures rejected the idea as too costly.
If these four states expand Medicaid, it would expand their budgets by a total of $163.3 billion—$128 billion from Florida alone—over the next 10 years, according to an analysis by fiscal watchdog group Foundation for Government Accountability, released last week. It would also add another 2.4 million able-bodied adults to the Medicaid roles and increase hospital costs by $760 million in those states the report says. The FGA analysis adds that 85,810 individuals—71,662 from Florida—are already on Medicaid waiting lists in these states.