Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford softened his position on accepting federal money for Medicaid expansion. (Photo courtesy of the Florida Legislature.)

By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said he is not writing off completely the possibility of expanding Medicaid in the Sunshine State.

Weatherford and many of his Republican colleagues in the House have been opposed to accepting the millions of federal dollars earmarked for Florida to expand Medicaid coverage to about 1.3 million uninsured people in the state.

However, Weatherford’s position could be moveable.

The Tampa Bay Times reported:

As the Legislature weighs options for insuring the state’s low-income residents, House Speaker Will Weatherford, for the first time, indicated Tuesday he might be open to accepting federal money.

“You never say ‘never’ in this business, I’ve learned that,” Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, replied when asked about his willingness to accept some federal aid as part of a House alternative to Medicaid expansion.

This is one of the biggest issues the Legislature faces this session. If lawmakers expand Medicaid or come up with a way to provide insurance for roughly 1 million poor adults, the federal government will pay all of the costs for the first three years.

In the Florida Senate, members are looking for ways to expand coverage using federal dollars without necessarily expanding the state Medicaid program. The federal government is set to pay for the state expansion for the first couple of years. However, following those initial years of federal support, the state would have to start contributing to the program, which would give assistance to some of the state’s poorest residents.

State Sen. Joe Negron, R-Palm City, has proposed accepting the federal funds and offering insurance through Florida Healthy Kids. State Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, has also introduced a new plan for the money.

Florida currently has one of the highest uninsured rates in the country. Federal officials have shown great interest in having the state accept the money and start providing coverage to more people.

Even Gov. Rick Scott — who faces a potentially difficult re-election campaign next year — supports expanding Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act. Scott had been one of the Affordable Care Act’s chief opponents, but switched his position after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the health care reform law and President Obama was re-elected.

There are also big-business interests pushing for the expansion. According to the Sun Sentinel, Florida’s hospitals have said it would help the state’s economy:

The Florida Hospital Association released a report by the University of Florida that shows extending health care coverage using the $51 billion in federal funds available would create more than 121,000 permanent jobs over the next 10 years.

The UF study, commissioned by the hospital association, found that expanding Medicaid — or finding an alternative that still brings in those federal dollars — would create 49,494 jobs in the health-care industry alone.

Large metro areas stand to benefit the most, with the study saying the Miami-Broward-Palm Beach region could gain 44,775 jobs alone. Orange County could get 8,019 jobs and Hillsborough could gain 7,377 jobs.

Weatherford has received criticism for fighting Medicaid expansion this long. During the beginning of this legislative session, Weatherford  admitted that his family relied on Medicaid when they were struggling financially and his brother was dying of cancer.