Posts

Marc Yacht: Voters should oust the politicians who refuse to expand Medicaid

/in /by

Marc Yacht, Context Florida

Because Florida Republican officials are refusing federal Medicaid dollars, about 1.3 million low-income Florida residents will not get health-care coverage.

Obamacare pays the full cost of expanding Medicaid for the first three years. After that, the federal government pays 90 percent of the cost.

A family of four could qualify for Medicaid earning up to $32,000 per year. Salaries to 400 percent of HHS federal poverty guidelines would qualify for subsidies.

Prior to Obamacare, 4.1 million Floridians lacked health insurance. Despite Gov. Rick Scott’s efforts to block Medicaid expansion and enrollment, the number of uninsured has been reduced to 3.4 million.

Despite all the opposition from state Republicans, Medicaid signups in the state have beaten projections. Through February, 440,000 people have enrolled, many with the help of volunteers, including college students, citizen groups, and health insurers.

The state’s refusal to accept federal Medicaid-expansion dollars has lethal implications for the uninsured. It is projected that 1,158 to 2,221 uninsured people will die because the state refused to provide the expanded coverage.

Read more

Editorial: Failure at the top on Medicaid

/in /by

Tampa Bay Times Editorial
Friday, December 13, 2013 4:54pm

Florida is stuck with a tea party governor who won’t talk and a tea party House speaker who won’t listen. Gov. Rick Scott refuses to repeat his earlier support for Medicaid expansion, and House Speaker Will Weatherford refuses to hear the economic and moral arguments for accepting billions of federal dollars to cover the poor. Congress is finally rejecting such ideological rigidness in embracing a budget compromise, and the Legislature should do the same on health care.

At least twice last week, Scott declined to publicly reaffirm his support for accepting billions from Washington to expand Medicaid. The Republican governor’s embrace always sounded unenthusiastic, and it came hours after the Obama administration approved his request in February to convert the state’s entire Medicaid program into a managed care system. Scott did not push the House to adopt a Senate plan to take the federal money, and he dropped the subject after the Legislature adjourned in May. Now he chokes on his own words of support as he gears up his re-election campaign.

Read More