Florida Medicaid expansion rejected by state Senate panel

[Jroc]

Florida Governor Rick Scott's plan to expand Medicaid coverage to cover about 1 million more poor people suffered a potential death blow on Monday when the proposal failed to make it out of a key state legislative committee.

The Senate Select Committee on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act voted 7-4 to reject the expansion, with all of the committee's Republican members voting against the plan championed by Scott.

A House legislative committee rejected the expansion last week, with the Senate committee's vote its final rejection unless political leaders agree to present a new compromise bill later in the current legislative session.

"I am confident that the legislature will do the right thing and find a way to protect taxpayers and the uninsured in our state while the new healthcare law provides 100 percent federal funding," Scott said in a statement issued by his office after Monday's vote.

Scott, a Republican who bitterly fought President Barack Obama's national healthcare plan as a candidate and in his first two years as governor, did not elaborate.

But the backlash from Republican legislative majorities in Tallahassee was not unexpected.

Scott stunned many conservative supporters on February 20 when he endorsed a three-year expansion of Medicaid, provided the federal government picked up the full cost for the first three years as promised.

Florida Medicaid expansion rejected by state Senate panel | Reuters

 

[NYcarbineer]

Great! We'll be happy to take Florida's federal tax dollars and spend them elsewhere! Awesome!

 

[OKTexas]

I wonder if Scott will try to do it by executive order.

 

[Jroc]

Great! We'll be happy to take Florida's federal tax dollars and spend them elsewhere! Awesome!

States will be saddled with massive debt from Obamacare eventually. Kudos to the FL legislature, same on Scott the turncoat.