President Barack Obama was uncharacteristically blunt Thursday while addressing the Republican governors and state legislators who have turned down Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
“That’s wrong,” Obama said from the White House briefing room after he announced that 8 million people had enrolled in private coverage under the law. The White House simultaneously released a fact sheet, which said 5.7 million people would be left uncovered in 2016 if the 24 states that have not expanded the program maintained their opposition.
“This does frustrate me: states that have chosen not to expand Medicaid for no other reason than political spite,” Obama said. “We’ve got 5 million people who could be having health insurance right now at no cost to these states. Zero cost to these states.”
“It should stop,” he said. “Those folks should be able to get health insurance like everybody else.”
