Florida Missing the Boat With Medicaid Expansion
Posted July 9, 2014 10:10 am
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TALLAHASSEE, FL – A coalition of 90 citizens' groups is continuing their fight to convince Florida lawmakers to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
Health Care for Florida Now is asking citizens to ask their representatives to expand the program to provide coverage for those who find themselves in a "coverage gap."
According
to Athena Smith Ford, advocacy director for Florida
CHAIN, a coverage gap occurs when people make too much
money to qualify for free coverage, but not enough to
afford coverage on their own.
"The new health-care law offers Florida billions of
federal dollars to extend health-care coverage to
low-income Floridians," says Smith Ford.
Opponents of the expansion argue the state would
ultimately have to pay for the expanded health care
spending. If the state agreed to the expansion, the
federal government would provide $15 million per day to
provide coverage for one million people who are
currently uninsured.
A
report released last week by the Council of Economic
Advisers estimates expanding Medicaid would create
63,000 new jobs, primarily in the health care field.
Smith Ford emphasized the expansion goes far beyond
providing health coverage.
"It will generate billions of economic revenue here in
Florida," says Smith Ford, "and will save taxpayers a
lot of money that otherwise goes to treating people who
are uninsured and show up in emergency rooms."
According to Health Care for Florida Now, the southern
part of the state has the highest percentage of people
without any health insurance coverage, with Miami-Dade
and Hendry counties having the highest numbers.
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