The Health-Care Gap Between Red and Blue America
States have a surprising degree of autonomy to block President Trump’s changes to Obamacare—and liberal-leaning states are already making their move.
The battle over health care is moving to the states.
The most immediate effect of the recent steps taken by Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to unravel the Affordable Care Act will be to create an even deeper gulf between red and blue states in the availability and quality of health insurance. An array of blue states are exploring ways not only to blunt Trump’s moves, but also to reach beyond the ACA with new mechanisms to expand coverage. Simultaneously, many red states are leaning into the rollback—both by seeking to limit access to Medicaid, and by embracing Trump’s
