Staff reports | The Republican-dominated House this voted to approve a resolution calling on new Gov. Henry McMaster to expand Medicaid in South Carolina.
WHAAAAATTT?!?!?!
Rep. Joseph Jefferson, D-Pineville, joined with a host of fellow Democrats in submitting a resolution, H. 3678, that calls for the expansion after — and that is key – some language in the bill that welcomes McMaster to his new position. The proclamation passed and was sent to the Senate, where it was handed over to the Medical Affairs Committee.
But it appears that Republicans who voted for the measure may not have read past the second line of the summary of the measure (thereby failing to see the part on expanding Medicaid). House Speaker Jay Lucas (R-Hartsville) quickly co-authored a bill repealing the proclamation.
Lucas’ office did not respond for comment. Jefferson said Friday morning that the plan was to ask the new governor to consider Medicaid expansion.
“When we realized it wasn’t going anywhere, we took it down … Sometimes, you do things just to get along, and finally that’s what we did.” So does Jefferson think the Republicans failed to read the proclamation? “I don’t want to speculate.”
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!
Reading is fundamental.