It’s been 59 years since former President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law. Now, Democratic leaders across four Southern states reminded voters how long they’ve lived without the full power of those programs.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa, Mississippi Democratic Party Chair Cheikh Taylor and Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Nikema Williams issued a joint statement slamming Republican leadership in their respective states.
“Despite broad and bipartisan support from voters across the country, MAGA Republicans across the South have blocked Medicaid expansion and denied low-income Americans critical health care coverage,” the joint statement reads.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 41 states, including many Republican-led ones, have adopted Medicaid expansion since former President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act in 2010.
But Republican governors and legislatures in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas have all rejected calls for Medicaid expansion.
“Every single person deserves access to high-quality, affordable care, but it’s clear Republicans are all too willing to put the health of our most vulnerable, including seniors and children, in danger.”
The Democratic leaders also suggested the window for expansion could close if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House. That’s based on a promise from Trump to replace the Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare, with an alternative policy. He told the Associated Press last year he was “seriously looking at alternatives.” That followed years of Trump’s vows in his first term to repeal ObamaCare, or at least to “starve the beast.”
Democratic leaders said that moves health care in the wrong direction.
“No one should ever have to choose between putting food on the table and receiving lifesaving care and medication, but that’s exactly what the future could hold if Donald Trump, JD Vance, and MAGA Republicans across the country get their way,” the joint statement reads. “Medicaid is essential for millions of Americans, particularly in rural communities where this critical funding keeps hospitals running. No American should have to drive hours to reach their closest healthcare provider.”
Democratic National Committee officials said if states would adopt Medicaid expansion, it would benefit nearly 3 million Americans, based on Kaiser Family Foundation estimates.
The impact would be especially felt in rural areas, including those throughout the South.
“Together, Trump and Vance are intent on enacting their dangerous Project 2025 agenda, which would ‘terminate’ the Affordable Care Act altogether and put the health care of tens of millions of Americans – including those who rely on Medicaid expansion – at risk,” the joint statement reads.
“Trump and Vance have shown who they are, and we should believe them. Lives are at stake, and voters must wholeheartedly reject them in November so that we can ensure affordable access to health care is a right for all and not a privilege for the elite few.”
