As the third largest state in the nation, Florida cannot continue to be the outlier in Medicaid Expansion, a commonsense, cost effective, and fiscally sound answer to the growing number of uninsured persons in our state.
This past year with the American Rescue Plan, Florida had a pristine opportunity to provide hundreds of thousands of Floridians with life saving health care coverage. Unfortunately, Governor DeSantis turned down that opportunity as well as the money that came with it and left our state hurting.
For that reason, Senator Annette Taddeo is once again filing this legislation as SJR 412 in the Senate with Representative Felicia Robinson filing the companion bill, HJR 239 in the House, which will allow Floridians to decide for themselves at the ballot box if Medicaid expansion is right for them. It’s a true measure of freedom in our democratic system of government.
“Floridians are paying a “hidden tax” to cover the health care received by the uninsured, that’s an extra $2,000 for every hospital stay to cover the cost of an uninsured person. All because the governor doesn’t want to expand Medicaid for Political reasons.” said Senator Annette Taddeo (D-Miami).
“I believe that the core of Medicaid Expansion is to provide essential health coverage within reach for individuals who would otherwise be unable to access it,” said Representative Robinson (D-Miami Gardens). “I support the expansion of Medicaid as it is the fiscally responsible thing to do. It increases financial security and creates opportunities for economic mobility that is beneficial to the state of Florida.”
In the midst of a global pandemic expanding Medicaid is clearly not a partisan issue. Deep-red conservative states, such as Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Utah have all expanded Medicaid in recent years via ballot initiative. We haven’t heard from any of them that it was a bad idea, or that they regret it. Senator Taddeo and Representative Robinson have filed SJR 412 and HJR 239 because quality healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and Florida’s working families deserve the peace of mind that a hospital visit won’t break the bank.
