Dave Heineman on Health CareRepublican NE Governor | |
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.
Our state has been working hard for nearly two years to protect Nebraska's interests, and I want to assure you and our citizens that Nebraska will not default to the federal government regarding a health insurance exchange. However, it is important to recognize that the United States Supreme Court will decide whether this law is constitutional or not by June 29 of this year. In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court will have three days of oral arguments on this issue in late March. The simple truth is it would be a costly mistake to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to begin implementing Obamacare until the United States Supreme Court makes its decision.