Pa. Senate Turns Down Second Vote on Medicaid Bill

Pennsylvania's Senate majority leader says Gov. Tom Corbett would veto a bill requiring him to seek federal approval for an expansion of Medicaid eligibility.

Sen. Dominic Pileggi made the comments Wednesday before the Senate voted along party lines against it. Democrats spoke angrily on the Senate floor about the move, calling it hypocritical.

Senators overwhelmingly approved the provision in budget-related legislation Sunday night in an effort to force the House and the Republican governor to support it. But House Republicans stripped it out two days ago, saying it would improperly force the governor's hand.

Pileggi says the budget-related bill can't wait because it also seeks $1 billion in federal hospital aid. Expanding Medicaid under a 2010 federal health care law would extend coverage to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

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Copyright AP - Associated Press
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