By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | Analyses from the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities predict 191,664 South Carolinians would gain health coverage if the state expands Medicaid.
According to the CBPP, Medicaid expansion narrows racial disparities in health coverage and access to care, and it improves coverage and health for parents and children. It would also put the state in a better position to respond to the current coronavirus pandemic, the analyses said. States that have expanded Medicaid have seen increases in access to care that have led to better health outcomes, such as improvements in self-reported health, decreases in the share of low-income adults screening positive for depression, and notably, fewer premature deaths. Many people who could gain coverage through expansion are at elevated risk from the virus, according to CBPP.
Reports show hundreds of South Carolinians have died from preventable diseases due to lack of coverage over the years. The CBPP pegged the number at 788. (See our previous coverage.)
In other news:
ACA enrollment begins Nov. 1. Health insurers selling Affordable Care Act plans to individuals have lowered rates in some areas or issued only modest premium increases for 2021. Final rates have yet to be finalized. Sign up ends Dec. 15. Read more.
New law on turtles. Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill this week that bans the commercial trade of native turtles in South Carolina. Turtle and wildlife advocates praised the move as a “meaningful step to protect (the state’s) native turtles,” said Elise Bennett, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This law will raise the state out of a morass of turtle trafficking and make it a safe haven for wild turtles.” Read the law here.
S.C. could reject a record number of absentee ballots. Some voting rights groups in the state are warning that mixed messages around a witness requirement and a new bar on ballot curing could lead to disenfranchisement. The witness signature is required for mailed-in ballots, and ballot curing is the process of notifying voters of issues with ballots received without the proper signature. Read more.
New documentary looks at political rift in S.C., U.S. “A Hard Road: Travels in Trump’s America” looks at the divisive political mood of South Carolina and the rest of the country in 2018, showing emerging political fissures that exploded in this pandemic year with national protests over civil rights and race. Statehouse Report editor and publisher Andy Brack directed the documentary. See the five-part series here. Episode Two features South Carolina:
Climate change takes its toll on health in S.C. The State has a seven-part series examining the health toll exacted by climate change in South Carolina. Part one was released this week, looking at flesh-eating bacteria that is killing people. Read more.
- Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!