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Medicaid A Top Issue As Scott, Crist Approach Second Debate

Miami Herald

Governor Rick Scott and his Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist, meet for their second debate of the campaign on Wednesday at Broward College in Pembroke Pines.

During their first debate encounter last week, the candidates showed their differences on most of the state's big issues -- including whether to expand Medicaid to cover people who now earn too much for the program but not enough for an Affordable Care Act policy. 

Crist said a million Floridians could benefit from the expansion.

“That would be about 51 billion dollars more in our state, about 120-thousand more jobs, why you don't want to help people in that regard is beyond me. I don't understand it.”

Scott said he would accept the Medicaid expansion only if the Federal; government agreed to pay 100 percent of the costs instead of just 90 percent for three years. But he claimed Medicaid has already been made cheaper and more affordable during his administration.

“What we actually did was real Medicaid reform. We said we're gonna now fix the program. It's a program that was growing at three and half times general revenue. It was a program we couldn't pay for. So we're gonna make sure people get jobs. It’s the best way to get health care.”

Crist has said Scott's heart is not in expanding Medicaid to help poor people.