Several members of Southwest Florida’s legislative delegation briefed business leaders last week on what they accomplished in this year's legislative session.
There was a big crowd at the Chamber of Southwest Florida monthly luncheon and Legislators were upbeat. The uptick in the economy and resulting tax revenue made it the first legislative session in years that budget cutting hadn’t dominated.
Senator Garret Richter, R- Naples, said all is well in the Sunshine State.
“We have a good fiscally responsible budget that we sent to the Governor,” Richter said. “The state is in good shape. The economy is growing.”
However, what the Republican-dominated legislature did not do was come up with a way to provide health care benefits to approximately 1.1 million uninsured Floridians.
In his State of the State speech kicking off the session, Gov. Rick Scott had called on lawmakers to extend Medicaid benefits to this population as a way of implementing the Federal Affordable Care Act in Florida.
The Senate floated a way to do it, but the House balked.
Richter said there’s always next year.
“As the Supreme Court determined Obama-Care is the law of the land, the Supreme Court further indicated that the state’ have to decide whether or not they’re going to expand Medicaid rolls and that’s what we’re trying to get our arms around now,” he said.
State Rep. Dane Eagle, R-Cape Coral, didn’t rule out a special session.
State Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, said he’s not convinced Medicaid expansion is necessary. He said this is demonstrated in 2010 Census data.
“Ninety-one percent of people in Florida who do not health care report themselves as in excellent or very good health,” he said. “If you look at the people who do not have health care and look at the census care 76 percent of them have healthcare after a four month period.”
Business leaders at the luncheon included Jim Nathan, CEO of the Lee Memorial Healthcare System. He said he is frustrated.
Nathan said lawmakers need to act now because the state is already paying for the Affordable Care Act.
“Reductions in Medicare reimbursement to hospitals, taxes on health insurance: that money is going to the federal government,” he said. “We have an obligation to bring that money back here and it’s not just for the one million but also for the other 18 million because that’s money that should come back to the state.”
There’s been no word from the Governor on a special session to address implementing the Affordable Care Act. And after making his speech kicking off the 2013 Legislative Session, Scott has rarely revisited the topic.
