Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Times article on Medicaid expansion:
Tampa Bay business groups and political leaders push for Medicaid expansion
JODIE TILLMAN Tampa Bay Times
Wednesday, January 28, 2015 6:54pm
ST. PETERSBURG — Though Florida’s incoming House speaker appeared Wednesday to squash Medicaid expansion for a third year in a row, supporters of a new plan to extend health coverage to the working poor say they believe events are lining up in their favor.
Bruce Rueben, president of the Florida Hospital Association, noted at the Bay Area Mayors Conference on Wednesday that the business community, including the powerful Florida Chamber of Commerce, has now mobilized to support covering nearly 800,000 uninsured adults.
That’s a marked change from the past two legislative sessions, in which House Republican leaders quickly shot down appeals from hospitals and advocates for the poor.
“Now the Legislature has to take this more seriously,” Rueben told attendees. If it doesn’t, “they’re having to say ‘no,’ to the very base they count on to get elected.”
The conference was put on by A Healthy Florida Works, a broad business coalition that has put together what it calls a “free-market” proposal to accept about $50 billion in federal funding to help pay for private insurance.
Other GOP-led states are starting to come around on expansion, a cornerstone of President Obama’s health care reform law. On Tuesday, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence announced plans to expand Medicaid after winning concessions from the Obama administration. His move could give other states a model to follow.
Under the agreement, Indiana can require some Medicaid enrollees to contribute toward their care. A Healthy Florida Works’ plan also includes cost-sharing requirements.
Keynote speaker Jason Altmire, senior vice president of Florida Blue and a former congressman, noted Wednesday that Pence is “no liberal.”
“If Gov. Pence can find a way to make it work for the residents of Indiana, there’s no reason we can’t find a way to make it work for the citizens of Florida,” he said.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling made expanding Medicaid optional for states. Florida House Republicans have refused to accept the federal funds, citing philosophical objections and fears that the state would be stuck with too much of the costs. That refusal has left nearly 800,000 low-income Floridians in a coverage gap.
Ripple effects could affect the entire state budget. Florida stands to lose an estimated $1.3 billion in funding this year to help hospitals treat poor and uninsured patients. Without Medicaid expansion money, legislators could be forced to borrow from other programs, Rueben said.
“The price of just saying ‘no’ is much higher for the Legislature than it has been in the past,” he said.
In Tallahassee on Wednesday, Senate President Andy Gardiner seemed to acknowledge as much, saying he would be open to discussing expansion. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said he didn’t plan to do anything on expansion but later added: “I am a never-say-never kind of guy.”
Speakers at Wednesday’s A Healthy Florida Works conference in St. Petersburg, meanwhile, urged attendees to contact their legislators.
“Don’t call it ‘Medicaid expansion,’ ” University of South Florida public health professor Jay Wolfson said. He recommended calling it health care expansion because Medicaid has negative connotations in Tallahassee.
Three mayors — Tampa’s Bob Buckhorn, St. Petersburg’s Rick Kreisman and Clearwater’s George Cretekos — spoke at the event and later signed a letter supporting expansion plans.
“This is not a political issue,” Buckhorn said. “This is a quality of life issue.”
The mayors are among a growing group of bipartisan local officials who want the Legislature to accept the federal dollars. The Pinellas County Commission has named Medicaid expansion as one of the county’s top five priorities for this session because it would alleviate the demand on county money for health care. A bipartisan majority of the Hillsborough County Commission favors accepting federal dollars to expand coverage.
“Any help they can give us would be appreciated because of that cost impact to our local community that might keep us from doing other programs,” said Commissioner Sandra Murman, a Republican and former state lawmaker.
Times staff writer Tony Marrero and Times/Herald writer Kathleen McGrory contributed to this report. Contact Jodie Tillman at jtillman@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374. Follow @jtillmantimes.
