'Rome wasn't built in a day': Florida lawmaker eyes long-game on Medicaid expansion
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State Senate President Kathleen Passidomo's opening day remarks were clear: Lawmakers must tackle Florida's health care crisis head-on, but they shouldn't look to Medicaid as an answer.
Why it matters: Her dismissal lands almost a month after Florida was identified as one of the leading drivers of the country's drop in Medicaid coverage for kids.
- The other leading states are Republican-led, and none have expanded Medicaid. Florida and those other states have disenrolled more kids than all of the expansion states combined.
- State House and Senate Democrats have, for years, tried to expand the subsidized insurance and filed a bill earlier this week to do that. GOP state Rep. Joel Rudman also expressed interest in Medicaid expansion.
What they're saying: "I understand the arguments both for and against. We've had the debate several times over the last decade," Passidomo said Tuesday morning. "Medicaid expansion is not going to happen."
- "It is not a quick fix. It is not a panacea," she added. "In fact, if you cannot actually schedule an appointment with a health care provider, Medicaid expansion is nothing more than a false government promise."
Be smart: "People who gain Medicaid coverage under expansion are more financially secure, have greater access to care, and experience better health outcomes," says Matthew Fiedler, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Context: Passidomo views her "Live Healthy" proposal as the more viable solution to Florida's medical woes. It adds new loan repayment options for health care workers and boosts access to health screenings.
- The bill package also has a hefty price tag: $870 million.
The intrigue: Rudman — who had already ruled out proposing a Medicaid bill himself — tells Axios Passidomo's remarks didn't miff him; in fact, he remains optimistic.
- "I'm glad we are having the conversation," he says. "Rome wasn't built in a day, but we're working on it."
- The freshman lawmaker believes there are other ways the Legislature can help Floridians, like improving reimbursement rates for Medicaid-accepting doctors and eliminating physician noncompete clauses.