Three Republican States Vote to Expand Medicaid

Three Republican states—Utah, Nebraska, and Idaho—voted for Medicaid expansion in Tuesday’s midterm elections, underlining warming attitudes toward federal and state health-insurance programs. The changes will potentially cover hundreds of thousands more low-income Americans— 150,000 in Utah, 90,000 in Nebraska, and 62,000 in Idaho. A plurality of voters surveyed, 41 percent, said health care was the most important issue for their decision in the elections—well ahead of the economy and immigration—according to preliminary exit polling. Democratic candidates across the country hammered Republicans during the campaign over what they called threats to the coverage guarantees for people with pre-existing conditions enshrined in the Affordable Care Act and potential efforts to cut into funding for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.