2014 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Health Care

Nikki Haley: Reject ObamaCare state exchange; reject Medicaid expansion

But as a state, and as an elected government, we will not be victims in this process. We rejected the federal government's less than generous offer to run a state exchange, an offer that would have Washington bureaucrats dictating the exchange and South Carolinians paying for it.

And, with your help, we emphatically said no to the central component of ObamaCare, the expansion of a broken Medicaid program that is already cannibalizing our budget, and would completely destroy it in the years to come.

These were not decisions made lightly, without thought or analysis. But I am fully convinced that South Carolina will be better for them, and I pledge to you this: we will continue to fight ObamaCare every step of the way.

Dave Heineman: Nebraska will not be pressured into expanding Medicaid

Pres. Obama and his political operatives are trying to pressure Nebraska into expanding Medicaid, but Nebraska will not be intimidated by the Obama administration. The US Supreme Court said ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion is optional. It is up to each state to decide how they want to proceed. The financial reality of expanding Medicaid is very simple. Expanding Medicaid will result in less future funding for state aid to education and our state college system. The responsible choice is to reject this optional Medicaid expansion.

Mike Pence: Medicaid is not just broke, it is broken

There's been a lot of talk about Medicaid. The sad truth is that traditional Medicaid is not just broke, it is broken. Research shows that the program does not lead to better health outcomes and in some cases hurts the very people it is supposed to help. One analysis found 2/3 of the children on Medicaid who needed to see a specialist, couldn't. Traditional Medicaid is not a system we need to expand. It's a system we need to change. The Healthy Indiana Plan is the right place to start.

The Healthy Indiana Plan is consumer-driven healthcare that moves people from emergency rooms to primary care and encourages low-income Hoosiers to take more ownership of their own healthcare decisions.

Robert Bentley: Don't expand Medicaid, even if paid for by federal dollars

Essential to ObamaCare is Medicaid expansion--a federal government dependency program for the uninsured. Since 1980, Medicaid spending has increased nationally by over 1500%. Here in Alabama, Medicaid takes up 35% of our General Fund.

Under ObamaCare, Medicaid would grow even larger--bringing millions more people to a state of dependency on government, and saddling our state and our nation--the taxpayers--with the enormous expense.

Now they are telling us we'll get free money to expand Medicaid. Those are your hard-earned tax dollars. Our great nation is $17.2 trillion in debt and it increases by $2 billion every single day. That is why I cannot expand Medicaid in Alabama. We will not bring hundreds of thousands into a system that is broken and buckling.

Robert Bentley: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is not Affordable

And the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act does not protect patients. 22% of primary care doctors account for 90% of primary care billing. If we were to add 300,000 to Medicaid--where would they receive care?

Already in Alabama, because of ObamaCare, over 87,000 people have seen a change in their coverage, and you or someone you know has likely seen your premiums double. Business and job growth is being stifled. Employers are leaving positions unfilled, or laying off workers so they can fall under the employee threshold that would require them to participate in ObamaCare.

Steve Beshear: Kentucky leads the way on affordable health care for all