By skyforbes 
Tuesday’s midterm elections brought other surprises besides some Congressional upsets — three traditionally red states had voter approved Medicaid expansion. The expansion will result in coverage for some 300,000 additional Americans, according to CNBC.
The states of Nebraska, Utah, and Idaho all saw passage of voter propositions for the expansion, which was partly a provision of the Affordable Care Act. These three states joined 33 others, and the District of Columbia, in approving the Medicaid expansion.
Nebraska Results
Nebraska passed the measure in a 53–47 vote, and could result in as many as 90,000 citizens being covered, according to CNBC.
Utah Results
Over in Utah, the measure passed 54–46, with 150,000 individuals in the low-income brackets eligible for the expanded coverage.
Surprisingly in Utah, the ballot measure overrules a partial expansion of Medicaid that state lawmakers passed earlier this year, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Some officials have suggested they could try to repeal the proposition, according to the newspaper. The Medicaid provision would raise about $90 million through a slight state sales tax increase to pair with federal funding.
Idaho Results
In Idaho, 62,000 individuals could see additional coverage thanks to the measure passing overwhelming by a count of 60–40.
Voters Concerns
Health care took front-and-center stage as far as issues were concerned. Further, expansion allows individuals with household income that is below 133% of the federal poverty level to enjoy Medicaid benefits.
Exit polling, according to CNBC, showed that 41% of voters felt the issue was at the top of their list of concerns.
Republican legislatures had balked against the expansion, whose legality had been thrown into uncertainty by a 2012 Supreme Court ruling.
The impact on state budgets is the reason why Medicaid expansion is generally opposed by Republican legislatures. In an article at IdahoFreedom.org, policy expert Wayne Hoffman wrote, “Over the past dozen years, Idaho’s population has grown at a compound annual growth rate of about 1.3 percent. Education and transportation spending have each increased by 2.9 percent. Spending on Medicaid? It’s grown at more than six percent annually”.
