Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Thursday compared the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act to one of the most famous disasters.
“It’s like putting 1,000 more people on the Titanic when you knew what was going to happen,” Perry said at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., as quoted by the New York Times.
Perry is one of several GOP governors to reject the Medicaid expansion in his state. Various estimates indicate that the program could have extended coverage to more than a million uninsured Texans. The Census Bureau said in September that Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the country.
Perry said that Republican governors who have accepted the expansion, like Chris Chrsitie in New Jersey, may have to explain that decision to GOP voters.
“I think it’s a factor; I think it’s a philosophical position,” Perry said.
