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November 19th, 2014 by flanews

Around 1 million Floridians could benefit from Medicaid expansion, something Florida has so far not taken up. As Matt Galka tells us, it doesn’t look like that fight will get anywhere again in 2015.

As new House and Senate leaders were sworn in this week, the same question remained: would Florida accept federal money and expand Medicaid. It’s a move that could help nearly one million people.

House Speaker Steve Crisafulli didn’t jump at the opportunity

“We believe, we stand firm, where we believe we are right now and that’s without expansion,” he said.

Floridians falling into the coverage gap are part of the working poor: people who make too much for Medicaid but too little for open market coverage.  Senate President Andy Gardiner says Washington isn’t being very flexible with the money

“The Federal Government ahs given us absolutely no flexibility at all on any expansion of medicaid, it’s either all or nothing, and I think that’s been one of the biggest problems,” said Sen. Gardiner.

Florida Legal Services released a report last week that said hospitals could be losing billions of dollars because of the failure to expand. Director of Advocacy Anne Swerlick says safety net hospitals will take a hit next summer.

“Special funds that were going to our safety net hospitals amounting to one to two billion dollars a year, those funds will no longer be available,” she said.

While there doesn’t appear to be a movement to accept the $50 billion dollars in funds like there was two years ago, Florida Democrats will continue to make noise.

“Healthcare effects everyone that’s alive, at some point in their life, this is something that if we don’t address, people are dying,” said Rep. Mark Pafford, the House Democratic leader.

The Governor has supported expansion in the past. It remains to be seen if he’ll push for it in his second term. Florida is one of 23 states that have refused federal money for Medicaid expansion.

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