A House select committee Monday opposed expansion of the Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. The select committee, which has been studying the federal law for weeks, split 10-5 along partisan lines, with Republicans opposing expansion and Democrats supporting it. The move comes after Republican Gov. Rick Scott endorsed an expansion of Medicaid eligibility. The expansion likely will be one of the most-controversial issues of the legislative session that starts Tuesday. A Senate select committee postponed a meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon that was expected to include discussions about possibly moving forward with the expansion.
Reactions
Speaker Will Weatherford:
“I am proud of the thoughtful, thorough and deliberative approach that our Select Committee took on the important issues related to Medicaid expansion and health exchanges. I received their recommendations and agree that expanding Medicaid and setting up a state exchange is not in the best interest of our state. We simply cannot count on the federal government to pay 100 percent of the cost for expansion. The facts show that healthcare costs will go up for many Floridians, while access to and quality of healthcare will go down. The ‘all or nothing’ approach that the Obama administration is offering will not work for our state. I know there will be continued discussion about this matter, and I look forward to exploring better policies for our state.”
House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston:
“Morally reprehensible.”
Representative Mike Fasano:
“By voting to turn back these dollars, this committee has, in essence, told millions of Floridians that they are not worthy of having access to primary health care services. Our office receives untold numbers of calls from single women, single mothers and others who may be living on the edge, that they cannot see a doctor because they do not qualify for Medicaid under existing criteria. … Florida’s taxpayers are donors to the federal government,” Representative Fasano states. “The dollars that the federal government offered to the state are dollars that Florida has already sent to Washington. By not accepting these dollars, Florida is not only guaranteeing that people will not get the coverage they need, they are also guaranteeing that those dollars will go to some other state which will gladly accept and use them for their own residents.”
Former Senate Dan Gelber, via Twitter:
@DanGelber: 500,000 FL children without health insurance. If no Obamacare what’s their solution?
Florida Democratic Party:
“Today, in a display of Gov. Rick Scott’s complete failure to lead his own party, House Republicans voted against expanding Medicaid to nearly a million Floridians. Despite broad public support the House GOP put politics before the well-being of Floridians. This partisan foot-dragging at the expense of Florida’s most vulnerable is as egregious as it is wrong. Floridians have spoken and the cost of doing nothing is too high.”
The James Madison Institute:
“The House made the right decision today to not draft a committee bill expanding Medicaid under PPACA provisions. Many Members expressed valid concerns that this could hurt the people that it is aimed at helping. State leaders should focus on providing more access to quality care — expanding a program that is inefficient in this effort is not a way to do that. Additionally, in our recent poll of 600 registered Florida voters more than 63 percent said they are wary that the federal government would keep the funding level promises made, and clearly many House Members share this worry. If history is any indicator, costs of such programs are often underestimated and there has been examples of the federal government going back on their promise before. These issues cannot be ignored.”
