HOW DOES MEDICAID EXPANSION WORK?
By expanding Medicaid, we’re bringing our tax money from Washington back to Florida and using it to offer needed healthcare to around 1.4 million people in our state. The money for this comes from taxes we’ve already paid. So, when we choose to expand Medicaid, we’re making sure that the money we work hard to pay in taxes is used right here in Florida to help our own communities. It’s a smart and effective way to take care of each other with the funds we’ve already put into the system.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICAID EXPANSION?
Medicaid expansion would help hundreds of thousands of hard-working Floridians who have jobs that don’t come with healthcare. Individuals and families who earns less than 138% of the federal poverty level would qualify. That’s less than $20,782 a year for an individual or $35,631 a year for a family of three.
We’re talking about delivering healthcare to near retirees who have lost their benefits, people with chronic medical conditions, and Floridians who can’t afford to see a doctor right now.
HOW DOES MEDICAID EXPANSION BENEFIT OUR ECONOMY?
With Medicaid expansion, billions of our tax dollars would be brought back to our state to pay for healthcare. The increased demand for health services would create more than 130,000 new jobs in Florida, and the new money spent in our state would boost our economy, benefiting businesses and Florida residents alike.
HOW WOULD MEDICAID EXPANSION SAVE US MONEY?
Right now, we pay for healthcare in the most expensive way possible. Instead of focusing on preventative care that saves both lives and money, we pick up the bill for people who have no ability to pay once their medical condition has become life threatening and more difficult to treat. The cost of this uncompensated care in our emergency rooms is passed along to taxpayers through state and local government programs and to consumers through higher insurance premiums.
The Florida Policy Institute has found that our state could save hundreds of millions of dollars by adopting Medicaid expansion.
HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT VOTERS WOULD APPROVE MEDICAID EXPANSION?
Medicaid expansion represents a common-sense approach for improving health care that has broad support across the political spectrum. Medicaid expansion is supported by 76% of Floridians and is similarly popular across the country. 7 states have used ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid including South Dakota in 2022.
Pd. pol. adv. paid for by Florida Decides Healthcare, Inc., P.O. Box 10829, Tallahassee, FL 32302. Contributions to Florida Decides Healthcare, Inc. are not deductible for federal income tax purposes
