Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared that his state won’t comply with President Barack Obama’s new health care plan, including expanding its Medicaid program, MSNBC is reporting. The announcement is a departure from his recent statement, saying he would follow the law if it were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Florida is not…going to expand Medicaid and we’re not going to implement exchanges,” Scott’s spokesman Lane Wright told The Associated Press yesterday. He stressed that the governor’s working to make sure the law is repealed.
Scott told Fox host Greta Van Susteren that “We care about having a health care safety net for the vulnerable Floridians, but this is an expansion that just doesn’t make any sense.” He added that the Medicaid expansion would cost Florida taxpayers $1.9 billion a year.
On the day President Obama’s new healthcare expansion was passed, Scott said he wanted to read the ruling before making any decisions. He later said he was unlikely to go along with it because of the potential cost to the state.
Scott has vocally criticized the health care overhaul from the start. He has complained about the growing cost of Medicaid. But according to Census data released last year, Florida has the nation’s third-highest rate of residents with health insurance during the past three years. Scott can’t make the ultimate decision, however, as it will also be decided by the Legislature.
Written by: Karen Benardello
