One lawmaker calls a newly perfected bill a step in Medicaid expansion
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One lawmaker calls a newly perfected bill a step in Medicaid expansion

Date: March 31, 2015
By: Krista Gmelich
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: 
A bill perfected by the Senate would raise Medicaid asset limits for people with disabilities.
RunTime:  0:36
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: Senator Tom Dempsey's bill would eventually raise the limit to $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for married couples.

Actuality:  DEMP.WAV
Run Time:  00:13
Description: By raising the limit people will be able to save money so that individual has a way to pay for services they need that aren't typically covered by Medicaid. It will also encourage individuals to save for unexpected emergencies.

If passed the bill would cover almost 48 hundred more people with disabilities.

And while Senator Ryan Silvey has called for the larger increases in Medicaid sought by Democrats, he supports Dempsey's more limited bill.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Krista Gmelich.

Intro: 
One Republican lawmaker says a newly perfected bill is a step in the direction of Medicaid expansion.
RunTime:  0:39
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: The bill would raise Medicaid asset limits for those with disabilities.

And although Senator Ryan Silvey supports the proposal, he says the bill is an expansion of Medicaid.

Actuality:  SIL1.WAV
Run Time:  00:14
Description: I just want everybody to be crystal clear. Today you have a program with x number of people on it, we pass this bill, tomorrow the program will grow, and we will pay for those people. Therefore we have expanded the size of the Medicaid program. That's my only point.

Senator Tom Dempsey sponsored the bill and he says increased asset limits will encourage people to save money.

The bill would increase the limits to $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for married couples by 2019.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Krista Gmelich.