Gov. Deal: No intention of expanding Medicaid

ATLANTA - Gov. Nathan Deal says he has no intention of expanding Medicaid under President Barack Obama's 2010 health care overhaul.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported Deal's comments to reporters gathered Tuesday in Tampa for the Republican National Convention.

Medicaid is government health insurance for low-income Americans, mostly children. It is financed jointly by the federal government and the states.

Initially, the 2010 law required that states cover anyone in households earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. That would add about 620,000 people in Georgia. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that expansion must be optional.

At the time of the ruling, Deal was noncommittal on the state's plan. On Tuesday, he told reporters the state does not have the money for a Medicaid expansion.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/8/252247