Lured by Federal Money, Supporters Line Up for Medicaid Expansion

Big bucks for playing the game

FREDERICKSBURG – Business groups that fought Obamacare and reflexively oppose government growth are spinning a new line: Expand Medicaid.

Allied with the White House, chambers of commerce across the commonwealth support adding 300,000 Virginians to the government's health care program for the poor.

The philosophical flip-flop is driven by the lure of federal dollars. President Obama's plan would pay states to enroll residents earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level – or $30,657 for a family of four. The current cutoff ranges from 25 percent to 100 percent of poverty.

Medicaid expansion seems like a sweet deal for the commonwealth, at least in the short term.