The Affordable Care ACT subsidizes health insurance for people who earn at least 11-thousand dollars a year. And it counted on an expansion of Medicaid to cover those earning even less. But when the legislature refused to accept the federal money to expand Medicaid, that left about a million Floridians with no hope of any health care at all.
It's a disaster for them, but also for Florida hospitals that will have to continue to care for them. Many of those institutions have joined a coalition called A Healthy Florida works which will be lobbying the Legislature to go for the Medicaid money. Jennifer Fennel speaks for the group.
"We're very interested in having the legislature use $51 billion that are already available to the state of Florida and those dollars could be used to extend health care coverage to a million or more Floridians", said Fennel.The affected group is those who earn more than Medicaid's current income limit, but less than $11,000 a year. The safety net hospitals get some federal compensation for their free, but that money is being reduced, ironically enough, because it was believed the Affordable Care Act would get rid of the problem.