MIAMI -- October 7, 2012
Millions of uninsured Florida families and health care providers are in a purgatory of sorts.
Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature want to privatize the state's Medicaid program, but need the Obama administration's permission. The Obama administration wants to make more low-income Floridians eligible for Medicaid, but Scott says the state can't afford to cover an estimated 2 million more residents.
The sides have been negotiating a package deal for more than a year. Without a solution billions of federal dollars could go to other states and many uninsured Floridians will continue to receive their health care in emergency rooms.
Florida's Medicaid program costs more than $21 billion a year. Legislative leaders have mostly stayed quiet on the issue and it seems unlikely that Scott will change his mind.
