Florida Gov. Rick Scott was one of the country’s most vociferous opponents of Obamacare. He refused to let the state take steps to comply with the law because, he said, the Supreme Court was bound to find it unconstitutional.
Fla. Gov. Rick Scott has gone from being an Obamacare holdout to a champion of expanding Medicaid under the law. (AP file photo)
The Supreme Court upheld the law, but said states could opt out of its provision for expanding Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income people. Taking advantage of that small victory, Gov. Scott at first insisted Florida would not expand Medicaid, even though the federal government would pick up 100 percent of the cost for three years and 90 percent thereafter.
So Gov. Scott shocked supporters as well as detractors when he announced this week that he has changed his mind and wants Florida to take advantage of the federal offer. Doing so would provide health insurance to roughly 1 million Floridians who otherwise would have gone without coverage.
It isn’t certain Florida will follow through, however, since the Legislature would have to agree to the expansion, and the proposal faces serious opposition from Republicans who do not share Gov. Scott’s change of view.
However, the fact that the Obama administration also has just agreed to let Florida set up an HMO program to cover Medicaid recipients could help persuade the Legislature. The managed-care approach is supposed to lower the state’s Medicaid bill.
Gov. Scott has been softening or reversing some of his tea party positions in advance of next year’s elections. He might have done the Medicaid flip-flop for altruistic reasons. Or he might have done it for votes.
Laura Green’s story on Gov. Scott’s reversal on Medicaid is here.
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