(AP) A potentially big gap is opening in President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Nearly 2 in 3 uninsured low-income people who would qualify for subsidized coverage may be out of luck next year because their states have not expanded Medicaid.

An Associated Press analysis of figures from the Urban Institute finds that 9.7 million out of 15 million potentially eligible low-income adults live in states refusing the expansion, or still undecided.

Many of the neediest people who could be helped by the law may instead remain uninsured — a predicament for Obama and his sweeping extension of the safety net.

It’s a consequence of last summer’s Supreme Court decision allowing states to refuse the Medicaid expansion, combined with unyielding Republican opposition in many states.