RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe says he'll make a renewed push to expand Medicaid now that Republican primaries are over and the U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a decision upholding the Affordable Care Act.
McAuliffe said Thursday in a conference call with reporters that the Republican lawmakers who have previously blocked Medicaid expansion will be more open to compromise during next year's legislative session.
But a spokesman for GOP House Speaker William J. Howell said the party's opposition hasn't softened and higher-than-expected costs of expanding Medicaid in other states have validated Republican concerns about the cost of expansion.
Expanding Medicaid is a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, and more than half of the states have chosen to expand the government-funded health care program for the poor.
