Those who live in red states need the benefit of Medicaid expansion. 

It may have seemed like smart politics in the short term for Republican governors to grab the opportunity offered by the Supreme Court rulings that made Medicaid expansion optional for states, but it was long-term stupid: 

If those 20 states hold out, they will eventually lose an estimated total of $20 billion in federal funds per year—money that would be going to hospitals and treatment. 

In blue states, let’s lobby for a public option on the insurance exchange—a health plan run by the state government, rather than a private insurer. 

In Massachusetts, State Senator James B. Eldridge is trying to pass a law that would set one up.

Some counties in California are also trying it.

Montana came up with another creative solution. Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat just completed two terms, set up several health clinics to treat state workers, with no co-pays and no deductibles.

The doctors there are salaried employees of the state of Montana; their only goal is their patients’ health. (If this sounds too much like big government to you, you might like to know that Google, Cisco and Pepsi do exactly the same.)