Texas gov Perry officially refuses Obamacare Medicaid extension
Is this just grandstanding? Or is there something to the fact that over a dozen governors have said this?
The Washington Times reports,
Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Monday his state won’t expand Medicaid or set up an insurance exchange, joining a growing number of Republican governors who are rejecting two key parts of President Obama’s health care law.
“I will not be party to socializing health care and bankrupting my state in direct contradiction to our Constitution and our founding principles of limited government,” Mr. Perry said. . . .
“I stand proudly with the growing chorus of governors who reject the Obamacare power grab,” Mr. Perry said. “Neither a ‘state’ exchange nor the expansion of Medicaid under this program would result in better ‘patient protection’ or in more ‘affordable care.’ They would only make Texas a mere appendage of the federal government when it comes to health care.”
Except, the very existence of Medicaid to begin with is partial socialization of healthcare, so Perry is party to it already.
According to Reuters, Perry has officially notified Obama via HHS head Sebelius of the decision.