One of many factors complicating Republican efforts to partially repeal or replace Obamacare is that 20 Republican senators hail from states that have extended Medicaid coverage under that program.
Politico highlighted the significance of this challenge with a recent feature on West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito. She comes from a state that President Trump won by 42 percentage points, is personally popular, and voted to repeal Obamacare more than 40 times as a House member. In 2015, she voted to repeal that law as a senator, knowing that President Barack Obama would veto any legislation that passed.
But, now, Capito is unhappy with the Republican repeal efforts, and a big reason is the potential impact on Medicaid. Thirty percent of West Virginia residents receive coverage from the program.
Of the 20 Republican senators from states that expanded Medicaid coverage, only two are up for re-election in 2018: Jeff Flake from Arizona and Dean Heller from Nevada. Most analysts generally consider them the only two potentially vulnerable Republican senators in this election cycle.
Here is the full list of Republicans from states with extended Medicaid coverage:
- Alaska: Murkowski, Sullivan
- Arkansas: Boozman, Cotton
- Kentucky: McConnell, Paul
- Louisiana: Cassidy, Kennedy
A summary of the latest Republican plan is provided by Ballotpedia here.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia. Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
Scott Rasmussen is a Senior Fellow for the Study of Self-Governance at the King’s College in New York and an Editor-At-Large for Ballotpedia, the Encyclopedia of American Politics. His most recent book, "Politics Has Failed: America Will Not," was published by the Sutherland Institute in May.To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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