The Florida House of Representatives is expected on Friday to kill a bill that would provide access to health care for uninsured Floridians by tapping into Medicaid dollars available under the federal healthcare law, often called Obamacare.
But that isn’t stopping a group calling itself FloridaStrong from trying to ferret out what it claims is misleading information about the proposal said on the House floor by state Rep. Richard Corcoran.
“Rep. Richard Corcoran falsely claims in his political propaganda that Florida cannot afford to close the healthcare gap. However, his assertion does not pass the smell test. States that have adopted similar plans are not only seeing the benefit of more insured citizens, but are also reporting net fiscal gains,” the email reads.
“The business community, members of both parties, and editorial boards across the state agree: it is beyond time for the Florida House of Representatives to break the gridlock and support the Senate’s pragmatic, bipartisan proposal. The Senate’s fiscally responsible plan will spur economic activity, increase state and local revenue, and create jobs.”
The advocacy group sent an email to House members Thursday afternoon after they had discussed the Senate FHIX proposal or SB 2A for two and a half hours. The chamber is expected to defeat the plan on Friday and then begin work on writing the budget for the 2015-16 year.
The chambers need to bridge their difference on how much additional money should be spent to fill what could be a $1 billion gap in funding for graduate medical education, federally qualified health centers and hospitals. The more money spent on filling the gap potentially the less for tax breaks.
Some of the assertions the group–which has strong ties to the Democratic Party–has flagged as “fiction” include Corcoran’s claim that nonpartisan experts agree that Medicaid expansion will increase costs to states and that the Senate plan will mean more taxes.
The House Majority Office was not immediately available to comment on the email.
FloridaStrong also sent out mailers targeting eight Republicans in swing districts and also paid for a web advertisement called “Disgraceful” featuring Corcoran’s “We’re not going to Dance” speech he made on the House floor opposing Medicaid expansion.
“Those bent on sabotaging this fiscally responsible Florida-based solution are spreading misinformation,” Charly Norton, executive director of FloridaStrong, said explaining the email blast adding that the group wants to ensure that “all members have all the information needed to make an educated vote on behalf of their constituents.”
