Okay so here’s the thing, put simply as possible: there are millions of Americans who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but make too little money to qualify for the tax subsidies provided under the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. So to fill that gap, so to speak, the government offered to expand the Medicaid program to fund healthcare for the people whose incomes place them in coverage limbo and fund it fully for three years. 26 states — most of which already receive more money from the federal government than they contribute — turned down the free money. Coincidentally, all 26 states are run by Republicans and happen to be among the country’s poorest states. Cue Jon Stewart’s outrage.
“It must be a pretty eclectic group with many different reasons to explain why they would turn down federal money to bring healthcare to their working poor,” Stewart said. “Or maybe there was just one reason…Spite.”
Stewart went on to add that turning down the money was “just the latest example of that hit game show sweeping part of the nation What Do You Hate More: Poverty or Obama? “Brought to you by Spite. Spite, the emotion that makes you turn down millions of dollars that would go towards healthcare to help the working poor because you hate the president.”
Here’s part one…
Here’s part two…
