WCJB News LiveCoverage of JMI Testifying Against Medicaid ExpansionMarch 10, 2015″…the lack of adequate affordable quality healthcare.” Florida is at risk of losing more than a billion dollars of federal low income pool funding. That money goes towards hospitals treating the uninsured or under-insured. That has led to the senate’s proposal of a state-run insurance exchange for low- income Floridians – as long as they work, attend school, or pay premiums.”We have to look at options to keep our hospitals open, a lot of our healthcare systems that depend on this low income pool money to figure out how we’re going to survive providing healthcare for our most needy and our most vulnerable citizens.”But the expansion proposal has always been a tough sell in the Florida house former republican house speaker Tom Feeney – who now heads business lobby group Associated Industries of Florida – says he’s hoping for an about face from the other chamber.”Our view is that the house and the conservative leadership ought to do like Mike Pettis, the conservative governor of Indiana did. A consumer-based, choice-based plan.”But not everyone’s on board. James Madison Institute president Bob McClure says if the feds are going to pull other health funding, they can just as soon pull this funding down the road. “They’re not reliable for a proven source of funding for the state that’s been in place for years, why would we double down on that and take an additional and count on them to fund an additional $50 billion?”If the state doesn’t accept it, it goes toward other states that do expand medicaid.Reporting in Tallahassee Matt Galka TV20 News.
