In largely rural states Idaho, Nebraska and Utah voted to expand their Medicaid programs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. That will extend coverage to about 325,000 people who make less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Since the poverty line in 2018 is, for example, $12,140 for an individual and $25,100 for a family of four, that means individuals making $16,146 and families of four making $33,250 will qualify for Medicaid, Sarah Kliff reports for Vox.
Montana rejected an initiative to increase taxes on tobacco products to keep funding Medicaid expansion. Montana's legislature expanded Medicaid in 2015, but only funded the program for four years. In July 2019 the expansion will end without a reauthorization of funds. "This ballot initiative is essentially trying to get ahead of a possible reauthorization fight, and continue the expansion with a popular vote," Kliff writes. The initiative failed in part because of heavy opposition from the tobacco industry; Altria Client Services, which represents Philip Morris, spent more than $12 million campaigning against the measure, Kelly Gooch reports for Becker's Hospital Review.
Colorado voters said no to an initiative that would increase the minimum distance from buildings and waterways that oil and gas drillers may operate. The contentious measure failed by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin, John Aguilar reports for The Denver Post.
Marijuana was also on several ballots. Michigan voted to legalize recreational marijuana (the 10th state to do so) while North Dakota defeated a recreational marijuana initiative. In both states the winning side got about 60 percent of the votes, Michael Grass reports for Route Fifty.
Two other states considered medicinal marijuana. In Missouri, voters could had three initiatives to legalize medical marijuana and tax its sales. The difference lay in the level of sales tax and what the tax revenue would be used for. One failed measure would tax sales and other areas of production at 15 percent and mostly use the money for an institute that would research treatment for cancer and other medical conditions. The other failed measure would tax sales at 2 percent and put the money toward veterans' services, drug treatment, early childhood education and public safety. The measure that passed with 66 percent of the vote will tax sales at 4 percent and use the revenue to pay for services for veterans, German Lopez reports for Vox. It also allows people to grow marijuana at home, which the other two did not.
Utah also legalized medical marijuana with 53.2 percent of the vote though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints opposed the measure in favor of a legislative approach. "To some, the vote seemed largely symbolic, since top lawmakers are busy constructing a different model for delivering medical cannabis to Utah patients. State legislators were expected to overwrite Prop 2 if it succeeded at the ballot box and approve their own cannabis act if it failed," Bethany Rodgers reports for The Salt Lake Tribune.
Ohio voters rejected an initiative that would reduce all drug possession and use offenses to misdemeanors, made it harder to jail or imprison people for such offenses, reduced prison time for non-criminal probation violations, and allow most prisoners (except for murderers, rapists or child molesters) seek sentence reductions of up to 25 percent if they participate in rehabilitative programs, German Lopez reports for Vox. The financial savings from having fewer people in prison would have been applied to addiction treatment programs and crime victim funds.
And in West Virginia, 52 percent of voters passed a measure weakening abortion access. "In 1993, the state Supreme Court interpreted the state constitution to say that medically-necessary abortions could not be denied to the poor. That meant state Medicaid funds would have to pay," WSAZ-TV reports. "With the passage, this language will be added to the state constitution: 'Nothing in this constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion.'"
from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2SUqRxZ States decide on ballot measures on marijuana, drilling, Medicaid expansion, and more - Entrepreneur Generations
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