Why GOP governors are agreeing to Medicaid expansion

>> let's go to "politico."

>> stoned.

>> i'm a little worried to even check. patrick gavin with us with the "playbook."

>> he's a wreck.

>> it's not 4:20 yet. a couple more hours.

>> more republican governors are moving to expand medicaid , a major component of the president's health care plan. this is big news.

>> it is.

>> why are they doing it?

>> well, if you am when the supreme court passed obamacare, they gave states the option but not requirement to expand medicaid in their states. and a lot of republicans -- or i guess folks who didn't agree with obamacare were hoping that through the states that's sort of how they would chip away at obamacare and kill it. that does not seem to be happening. especially when you hear news of rick scott from florida agreeing to expand medicaid . why is that important? not only is he a republican, not only is in the important state of florida , he's been one of the biggest critics. rick scott is realizing what a lot of other republican governors are seeing in states like north dakota and ohio are realizing which is that the politics are really hard to not do it. you not only have a lot of groups representing low-income republicans, you have a lot of religious groups to expand access for low-income americans, when the economy is the way it is. and the reality is even if you don't expand it in your state, that doesn't exempt your state from paying these federal taxes. so it is very much a collective action issue where if you don't -- just because you're not going to do it in your state doesn't mean you're not going to help subsidize other states. the politics for republican governors around the country to not expand medicaid is very difficult. if you saw rick scott do it yesterday, i think you'll be not surprised to see other republican governors do it as well.

>> obviously, al sharpton , a lot of pressure on a conservative like rick scott , just say no to all that money. you offend just about everybody. you offend the hospitals, but you also offend a lot of swing voters and say, wait a second. the federal government is going to give us all of this money to take care of the poor? and you said no to it while we're paying for the other 49 states to do the same thing?

>> no, and it didn't make sense when scott was saying he wasn't going to do it. and brewer and others. and i think that they've just come to the reality, you cannot turn down this money. the president, in terms of this package, was right. and they've had to make 180-degree turn. i think they're doing the right thing now, but it was right when they were saying they were not going to do it. they're just catching up to the needs of their constituents. that's what they're supposed to do.

>> patrick gavin, thank you.

>> have a good weekend.

>>> coming up, we dispatched louis. which i think it inaccurate. i think he just took off on a bender to the academy awards . as you can see, a total waste of money.

>> louis bergdorf in l.a.

>> the kid's a mess. we'll get a look at sweet lou 's preview of the oscars as he looks in every mirror he can find at himself.

>> we're going to be talking about "lincoln," i think an odds-on favorite and also talking to tony scott of "the