Florida will have more federal money to reimburse hospitals for care they provide uninsured patients. Politico Florida reports The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has given the state a 60-day extension to spend about $166 million from what’s called the Low-Income Pool (LIP). But that’s going away because the Affordable Care Act instead encourages states to expand Medicaid to cover more low-income residents. But the Florida Legislature has not expanded Medicaid and now there’s a huge gap between the cost of covering the medical needs of low-income Floridians and how much money is available.
Laura Brennaman, the policy and research director for Florida CHAIN (Community Health Action Information Network) says there’s an easy fix — the state legislature could expand eligibility for Medicaid.
Listen to the full interview here:
