In a rare display of partisan politicking and social networking prowess, former Governor Charlie Crist has taken to Facebook to criticize the Florida House for its rejection of federal dollars to expand Medicaid, while indicating he supports the Florida Senate’s efforts on the issue.
“It is really disappointing to watch the Legislature, particularly the Florida House of Representatives put ideology over the health care needs of working uninsured Floridians,” Crist writes. “The plan the Florida Senate has designed will build on one of the best public private health care partnerships in America, KidCare, and would provide more than 1 million working uninsured Floridians access to real private health insurance.”
Last Friday, the House passed health care legislation which relies on state money and bypasses more than $50 billion in federal funds. The vote, as expected, fell almost entirely along party lines. The plan, called Florida Health Choices Plus, is supposed to cover about 115,000 people who have incomes at or below the federal poverty level. But the plan leaves out most of the uninsured in that income group; only disabled adults and parents of children 18 and younger would qualify.
The Senate plan Crist favors would take the federal funds and expand coverage to an estimated 1.1 million Floridians. It would include groups left out of the House plan, such as childless adults and middle-aged parents whose children are grown and gone.
In criticizing the House now, Crist has involved himself in a debate sure to have ramifications on next year’s gubernatorial campaign which the newly-minted Democrat is expected to enter. This point did not seem to be lost on Crist.
“I know one thing, if this debate had happened during my term as Governor, the Legislature and I would have spent all summer in Tallahassee until we had done the right thing by the people that we all serve,” Crist wrote.
Material from Health News Florida was used in this post.
