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Senator Jay Costa on Adopting Medicaid Expansion

When the Supreme Court's ruled in favor of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) last year, they gave states the option to opt out of the law's Medicaid expansion. This left the decision of whether or not to participate in the hands of our governors and state lawmakers.

If adopted in Pennsylvania, the Medicaid expansion would cover people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, about $15,400 for a single person and $31,800 for a family of four. And the federal government  would pay 100 percent of the cost of the expansion for the first three years, with the federal share dropping to 90 percent by 2021 and remaining 90 percent thereafter.

Governor Corbett has said he does not want to adopt the expansion because it would "add to a budget burden that's unsustainable. "

We'll look at whether Pennsylvanians will be allowed to enroll in the program with State Senator Jay Costa of Allegheny County.

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