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Lawmakers denied healthcare expansion that could have insured hundreds of thousands of Floridians lacking health insurance. As Matt Galka tells us, a majority of their own insurance plans are taxpayer funded – even though many cited that expanded healthcare would create a taxpayer funded entitlement program.

Many House Republicans said that expanding Medicaid in the state meant taxpayers would be on the hook for insurance costs for the poor. Some state legislators tried to point out that Floridians are already paying for lawmakers health coverage.

“Before you condemn this plan, remember that this body has, for years, enjoyed a Cadillac healthcare plan that is heavily subsidized by the citizens of Florida,” said New Port Richey Democrat Amanda Murphy on the House Floor last Friday.

145 out of the 160 members in the legislature are enrolled in the state’s health plan. The insurance plan costs $22,000 dollars a year. Lawmakers pay $180 bucks a month for a family or $50 bucks a month for individual coverage. The average Floridian pays around $1300 bucks for a family premium. Ray Pilon was one of a few Republicans that voted yes for expansion.

“For my constituents I can answer it very simply. I think we oughta pay the same exact price as every other Florida employee and that those rates should be appropriate,” said the Sarasota Republican.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Shalimar) voted no.

“We work here as state representatives and part of our compensation is healthcare, frankly I think that the healthcare we receive is too good,” he said.

Governor Rick Scott proposed increasing state employee health insurance rates for the past 5 years.  Lawmakers keep rejecting it.

Up until last year, Florida House members had only been paying $8 bucks a month for an individual plan and $30 bucks a month for a family plan.

Three dozen Uber drivers who live and work in the state Capital got together for a pep talk. On their minds…the lack of legislative progress in settling ground rules for ride sharing services. Lawmakers have not agreed to take up the ride sharing legislation in their special session. Uber spokesman Cesar Fernandez says the lack of action is jeopardizing jobs.

“Right now there are twenty thousand small businesses throughout the entire state of Florida that rely on this income for hard working families. And that makes it an issue worthy of consideration and we’re going to continue working with our leadership in both the House and Senate to try and get it introduced” says Fernandez.

Lawmakers were close to a deal on how much insurance a driver must carry and background check requirements when the House abruptly adjourned three days early in April.

A healthcare debate that caused a major disruption in the state’s budget process came to a head today.  As Matt Galka tells us, the Florida House – the chamber opposed to Medicaid expansion – formally got their say on whether the plan lives or dies.

Healthcare expansion supporters were still holding out hope Friday.

“I am still here. We the people of Florida are still here to call for affordable quality healthcare for all,” said Jabari Paul with expansion support group “Faith in Florida.”

Vincent Adderly was part of the group. He falls into the coverage gap and is uninsured.  Part of his big toe was amputated last week in a procedure he says could have been avoided if Medicaid was expanded in the state.

“We need to close that gap and we need to agree on coming together and not being one sided about how it should be done,” he said.

A plan for healthcare expansion through lawmakers and regular session into chaos.  The Senate’s expansion planned passed that chamber overwhelmingly. A majority of Florida House members voiced opposition to expansion throughout the process. That didn’t change Friday.

“I know an entitlement when I see one. FHIX is simply Obamacare, Medicaid expansion with a clever name,” said Rep. John Wood (R-Winter Haven).

Before the House had even voted on healthcare expansion, there was an announcement that budget conferences would begin this weekend. The announcement basically meant a broad budget deal was in place without federal healthcare money for expansion.

Some Senators were frustrated.

“Not only are we talking about the hundreds of thousands of folks impacted by this in real time, lets think about the hundreds of millions of dollars that we’re going to lose in revenue,” said Democratic Miami-Dade Senator Dwight Bullard.

Lawmakers from both chambers will have until Tuesday to iron out specific parts of the budget like other healthcare costs and education spending.

Fears of a state government shutdown on July first were eased today when the state House adopted it’s version of a budget, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, many will be unhappy by the time the final version is sent to the Governor.

The House Gaveled in…prayed…said the pledge of allegiance and passed the same budget they passed in April in less than 9 minutes. House Democratic Leader Mark Pafford told the House “We’re hereto fulfill the duty of the people who sent us here to pass a responsible budget. Because of differences between the leadership of the House and Senate, we didn’t get that done during regular session.”

Without a budget by July first, state government would see a partial shutdown. That now looks less likely than it did in April or May.

What’s different now from April is that the House and Senate have finally started talking to each other.

Those talks start this weekend. Senator Wilton Simpson is confident there will be no shutdown. ”I’m very hopeful and I think  we’re all professionals and we here with a responsibility to the people of Florida and we’re going to do our jobs.”

Still to be resolved: An increase for schools It once looked historic, now it doesn’t because of greater needs in health care. And the level of tax cuts will be at least 200 million less than the Governor was seeking,

Environmentalists are very unhappy with the budgets moving forward, in part because it uses a third of the money voters approved for land conservation to fund the already existing Fish and Wildlife Commission. Jim Boyd is shepherding the legislation.

“It’s maintenance, management, lots of other things as well, ,so I believe we’re honoring the intent of the law” says Boyd.

Lawmakers have a self imposed deadline of June 20th to finish their work…a ten day cushion to keep state government functioning normally.

The issue of expanded health care created a bitter divide between the House and Senate. A final vote on the healthcare plan Friday is what opened the door to budget negotiations.

The sponsor of legislation giving consumers more options in the state run insurance pool that was vetoed by Governor Rick Scott isn’t saying whether the legislature will attempt to override the Governor’s veto. Rep. Michael Bileca does say the Governors’ office is willing to talk about the plan during the next session.

“It was a good bill. We think it created more competition because it gave consumers more choice and it created transparency ion the market place. The Governor didn’t think so, but I actually think it created a healthier marketplace, not a less competitive  marketplace” says Bileca.

The legislature would lose its ability to override the veto the after the next time it meets, now scheduled for January.

The state will serve three hundred thousand kids a healthy lunch this summer, but the needs of as many as eight hundred thousand more will go unmet. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam says farmers can provide the food. The problem is getting it to people who need it.

“And so this is an imminently solvable issue in our state and in our country. The abundance of agriculture crates fruits and vegetables that everyone’s mother would be proud to have you eat more of, and we waste a high percentage of it because as a society, we ‘ve become fairly picky” says Putnam.

The state has about 36 hundred distribution points. It would need at least twice that many to meet the needs of those in the school lunch program. The food being distributed is donated by farmers and in many cases the fruits and vegetables have small blemishes that keep them from going to supermarkets.

The biggest debate for Florida lawmakers all year has been whether or not to expand healthcare in the state using federal money. As Matt Galka tells us, the Florida House – the plans main opponent – got their first full crack at the proposal Thursday.

For 2.5 hours, question after question was fired at Democrat Mia Jones about the Senate’s healthcare expansion plan.  Jones took up the proposal that uses federal money to cover uninsured or under insured Floridians because it didn’t have a House sponsor.

“I don’t really feel that we had much movement as I would like to see. I’m hopeful that after tomorrow that we would have some of the amendments that would address some issues and concerns that would raise,” said Rep. Jones (D-Jacksonville).

The House has been a staunch opponent of expansion.  The Senate made it a priority after concerns of other healthcare holes in the state budget. They have attempted to amend it to give the state the power to end the program in three years or if the federal government backs out of giving Florida money. The House speaker wasn’t sold.

“Why would you even go through a process like this to just say you’re going to sunset it?” asked House Speaker Steve Crisafulli after the floor session ended.

Two and a half hours of questions gave way to what is sure to be a lengthy debate over the bill on Friday. A full vote from the Florida House is set for Friday morning. Democrats say they’ll have some Republican support.

“The number is anywhere between 3 and I would say 10 to 12,” said Rep. Mark Pafford (D-West Palm Beach).

They’ll need more than that if they want the bill to pass.

The Senate passed their plan overwhelmingly on Wednesday but have indicated that if it doesn’t pass the House, they’ll need to move on to passing a state budget and revisit healthcare funding later in the year.

The Florida House and Senate hasn’t seen eye to eye about healthcare expansion in the state the whole year. As Matt Galka tells us, the Senate keeps changing their plan to try to compromise with the House.

The Florida Senate isn’t backing down from pushing their healthcare expansion plan. And they want to make one thing clear.

“If you think this is Medicaid expansion, you’re wrong,” said Sen. Aaron Bean (R-Jacksonville) on the Senate floor.

Senators continued to make the case for why Florida needs to accept federal money to help uninsured or underinsured Floridians.

“We can never lose sight of the people the Senate is trying to help. These are students who by no fault of their own have no access to insurance,” said Sen. Rene Garcia (R-Hialeah).

The Florida Health Insurance Affordability Exchange or FHIX plan –which supporters say can help hundreds of thousands of uninsured – got a full vote from Senators Wednesday.

Lawmakers agreed to five more amendments to the plan to go along with more changes made on Tuesday.

One of the biggest changes – allowing the state to end the program. If the federal government backs out of giving their portion of the money, then the state can make it go away.

Senators say the fixes for FHIX meet the concerns of the state’s Agency For Healthcare Administration. Now they’ll have to convince members of the Florida House

“We have a very tough sell, we’re trying to shine it up for them and hopefully make it more attractive,” said Sen. Bean.

House members are far from on board.

“It’s a house of cards, it’s built on a false premise, and what we really need to do is move past the Senate’s Medicaid expansion plan and focus on the rest of Florida’s budget,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Shalimar).

Opponents doubt that even if the proposal passed the legislature the federal government would approve it.

The FHIX plan passed the Senate with only three “no” votes. The Full Florida House is expected to vote on it on Friday.

A ruling by the First District Court of Appeal allowing slot machines in counties where voters have given the okay is under fire in the state legislature. The ruling could allow slots in rural Gasden County and four others. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, lawmakers could act soon to make clear any expansion of slots would require legislative approval.

In January 2012, two out of three voters in rural Gasden County said yes to slots. The State, relying on an Attorney General’s opinion refused a license, but now an appeals court has ruled in favor of voters. State Senator Bill Galvano helped write the law and thinks the court got it wrong.

“The court grossly misinterpreted the referendum provision> It very clearly says it has to occur by legislative authorization” says Galvano.

The ruling could have big consequences. If licenses are eventually granted to Gadsden and four other counties where voters have approved slots, it could void the state’s deal with the Seminole Tribe says their attorney, Barry Richard.

“I don’t think that the legislature or anybody intended that one small county in North Florida would be able to obliterate the compact between the state and the Seminoles and cost the state to lose many millions of dollars every year.”

This ruling has legislative leaders talking. They’re trying to decide if they need to act now while they are here in special session to make it clear that slots can’t be issued without legislative approval.

While waiting for a an appeal is more likely, House Finance and Tax Chairman Matt Gaetz says legislative action during the special session is not out of the question.

“Yeah, I think there are a lot of people in the legislature who have some level of discomfort with the decision that’s recently been issued” says Gaetz.

Adding fuel to the fire is that authorization for black jack runs out in July., and lawmakers haven’t been talking. The latest ruling may get them back to the table.

The Attorney General has two options. One is to ask the appeals court for a rehearing. The second is to ask the State Supreme Court to look at the case. IF she did nothing, the ruling could stand.

A key Senate committee make significant changes to its health care plan today at the state capitol. Senator Arron Bean of Jacksonville says anyone enrolling would have to apply with the understanding the benefits could go away at any time.

“Could end at anytime should the federal government end their participation or if their participation dips below certain percentages, this program could go away anytime. They understand that.”

The committee also took the Governor’s Agency for Healthcare to task for not having senior staff at the committee. A state economist told Senators the Senate plan would save the state more than a billion dollars over ten years.

Former Senate President Don Gaetz has decided against a run for the US Senate seat currently held by Marco Rubio. The Niceville Senator says he would have to give up the remaining 16 months in his term and resigning would be costly and unethical.

I’d have to spend 537 days trying to convince people and the rest of Florida to get to know me and my positions. That would of required my resigning from the Florida Senate. That would of in turn caused a special election in my senate district, which would have caused the people in my senate district hundreds and thousands of dollars. I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think it’s ethical. I think it would be selfish” said Gaetz.

Gaetz is being urged to run for the US House if current Congressman Jeff Miller runs for the Senate.

After a half day healthcare workshop, resistance to expanding healthcare remains strong in the Florida House, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the opposition may have as much to do with what’s in the bill as what it’s being called.

A handful of young professions delivered a petition with 13 thousand names supporting health care expansion to the House Speaker. 2nd year law student  Katharine Huddleston carried the petitions. “I’m actually one of the 300,000young Americans who are in the coverage gap” is what she said to the Speaker’s Chief of Staff.

It appeared to fall on deaf ears.

“When I was 21 years old I was diagnosed with psoriasis. It’s a chronic autoimmune condition. Although it doesn’t have a cure, with consistent, regular medication I can live a normal productive life” Huddleston said afterwards.

State Senator Denise Grimsley agrees that part of the problem is the name.

Q:”Do yo thing the debate would be different if it was called something other than Obamacare?”

“Probably”

Q:”Why do you say that?”

“I just think its very political.”

State Senator Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) didn’t mince words. “Well, Obamacare is the kryptonite word among us Republicans.”

Democrat Janet Cruz of Tampa says there is no question the name is a problem, but questions the reasoning. “Are we really going to get caught up in semantics here when we have eight hundred thousand people int he state of Florida that don;t go to the doctor?”

Meanwhile, A Senate Committee continued to make changes to the plan in an effort to meet objections in the House…

And while House Speaker Steve Crisifulli didn’t use the phrase ObamaCare, he did say this: “You know there’s  a saying if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, its a duck. It’s Medicaid expansion”

The apparent agreement for this special session was that the House would at least give the health care plan a vote on the floor. That’s scheduled for Friday.

The Senate would need all 39 House Democrats and 22 Republicans to pass the health care expansion.

A state economist told Senators their FIHX plan would save the state more than a billion dollars over ten years. The House and Governor have said the plan amounts to a tax increase.

Tax cuts are coming if the Florida House gets their way, but as Matt Galka tells us – the amount that made it out of a House tax committee Tuesday falls far short from the numbers being thrown around earlier this year.

A 2015 budget surplus gave way to the promise of cutting taxes, but healthcare money uncertainty put things in jeopardy. The Florida House is back with a tax cut package significantly less than they wanted at the beginning of the year.

The package promises to save Floridians $436 million dollars over the next two years.  The hope at the beginning of 2015 was that nearly $700 million dollars would be slashed.

A portion of the package that took the biggest hit was cell phone tax savings. The Governor was pushing for an average savings of $43 dollars per year, the package only saves people about $10 bucks.

“I’ve got to fish with the lures that work, we passed a huge CST cut during regular session, and we were unable to get the Senate to take up the reduction in the CST,” said committee chair Rep. Matt Gaetz/(R-Shalimar).

Democrat Jose Rodriguez tried to tack on an amendment that taxed outside businesses operating in Florida and put that money towards healthcare.

“Closing some corporate tax loopholes generates some revenue and would relieve that burden on the local level,” said Rep. Rodriguez (D-Miami).

Republicans voted it down.

The Florida Chamber is happy with the overall proposal even though they were hoping for more cuts.

“Would the Florida chamber like to see a 690 million dollar tax cut package? Absolutely. But the package we saw pass out of House committee today is probably pretty close to what we’ll see at the end,” said David Hart, the Chamber’s Executive Vice President.

Other portions of the package include a three day back to school sales tax holiday moved up closer to the school year – and three separate holidays to help college kids buy textbooks tax free.

The package is part of the House’s version of a healthcare compromise. House leadership said they’re willing to put hundreds of millions of dollars of state money that would have gone toward tax cuts instead towards helping hospitals – if the Senate droops its quest for Medicaid expansion.

State lawmakers are back at the state Capitol for a 20 day special session after  a fight over healthcare derailed budget talks. As Mike Vasilinda Tells us, plenty of special interests are bending lawmakers ears, but few constituents are speaking out.

Americans for Prosperity Buses left Lakeland and Orlando early Monday. They carried dozens of pastors to the Capitol. Margarita Romo came from Pasco county to counter claims that expanded heath care would only benefit those who don’t want to work.

“And we know that in Pasco county, there are twenty-eight thousand people that would benefit from this and that’s the county that I’m from. Over twenty-eight thousand. Why not?”

Q: And the majority of those you say are working?”

“They’re working people, they’re not all sitting around” says Romo.

On the other side? The no tax group Americans for Prosperity which is running a TV spot that says ”Dumping more people on the broken Medicaid program is the wrong answer.”

Andres Malave of AFP says they are also sending post cards to people in districts whose Senators support Medicaid expansion. “Floridians that have received mail from us are folks in the districts of Senators that continuing to claim that they are going to support a broken entitlement program” says Malave.

What is clear is that lawmakers aren’t getting hit with a barrage of email on either the budget or healthcare. Several offices say they are averaging 50 to a hundred a day, but few of those are from constituents.

Sen Nancy Detert says she’s only heard from about 20 of her half a million constituents.

“Those 20 people count, and it’s important.”

Q:”so..if you get 2,000?”

If I get two thousand not from my district, they don’t count” says Detert.

But on July first, state government faces a partial shutdown if there is no budget, and the closer that date becomes, the more likely average people will start paying attention.

The House and Senate are expected to start talking about a budget deal this coming weekend, but neither side shows signs of changing their mind on expanded health care.

Lawmakers left Tallahassee a month ago in a huff, after a nasty disagreement about healthcare in the state. As Matt Galka tells us, they’re back in Florida’s capital city now – on deadline to craft a state budget before the month ends.

The Florida House listened to the sounds of the Beatles. The track “Come Together” played over the loudspeakers shortly before the chamber started a special session to debate healthcare and craft a state budget.

The Boys were Back in Town on the Senate’s side as well. Both chambers were looking for harmony after a meltdown at the end of April during regular session caused lawmakers to call it quits without a state budget.  The sides couldn’t come to an agreement on expanding Medicaid.

The House Speaker indicated that his chamber is still saying “Dream On” when it comes to the Senate’s healthcare expansion pla.

“There’s a saying if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. It’s Medicaid expansion, so whether you’re talking to me or other members, other members may have a problem with the fiscal side of it,” Rep. Steve Crisafulli (R-Merritt Island) told reporters.

The Senate’s position didn’t change much during the past month. They’re continuing to push for their extended coverage plan.

=“I’ve been around for a long time and while I think it’s the right thing to do and it’s about as conservative free market as you’re going to get, the time is right, and some will say well the federal Government won’t approve it, I say lets find out,” said Senate President Andy Gardiner (R-Orland0).

Senators may be humming Don’t Stop Believing over the course of the 20 day special session. It is a long shot the House budges from their stance on healthcare.

The Florida House plans to formally vote on healthcare expansion Friday.  The state’s current spending plan expires at the end of the month, but both chambers say they’re committed to passing a budget before then.