Advocates Urge SC Medicaid Expansion

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAState Medicaid expansion advocates urged state senators last week to expand Medicaid in South Carolina, which, if legislators don’t act on, could leave 300,000 South Carolinians without healthcare coverage.

The advocates for expansion, representing the poor, mentally ill, disabled and retired residents, said it is about providing access to healthcare that enables them to work and be active.

Governor Nikki Haley opposes the expansion and has said the state cannot afford the 10 percent match that would eventually be required.

In the story from The Sun News, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center Director Sue Berkowitz says not expanding it creates a “doughnut hole” of people left fending for themselves, between those who are poor enough to qualify for Medicaid and those who can get subsidies.

In South Carolina, parents qualify for Medicaid if their take-home pay is up to 50 percent of federal poverty guidelines. The expansion would increase coverage to 138 percent and include childless adults. The new income limit would be roughly $15,400 for an individual and $30,650 for a family of four.

For more on this story, visit The Sun News.

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