Opinion: Virginia's governor claims he can expand Medicaid on his own say-so

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) faced a tough choice this week, with only bad options amid the biggest Obamacare fight in the country. Republicans in the legislature have been determined to turn down billions in federal money to cover some 400,000 low-income Virginians. Mr. McAuliffe on Friday announced that he would go it alone, bypassing the General Assembly and unilaterally expanding access to affordable health care in the state. In a public address, the governor insisted that he had many legal avenues, and he assigned his secretary of health and human services to bring him a plan by Sept. 1.