March 13, 2013 –
2013 Florida legislative session update

This year’s legislative session is one week old and the divergent positions being taken on the Medicaid expansion issue are symbolic of the larger debate that will take place on many more issues that come before the Florida Legislature.

Thus far, the expansion of the state’s Medicaid program sought by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has positioned leaders in Tallahassee on different sides of this important issue. The decision to be made in Florida has taken on increasing political meaning as many opponents of PPACA have urged state leaders to decline expanding Medicaid as contemplated by the new law. The federal government has offered states like Florida an incentive to do the expansion voluntarily with a promise to pay all costs associated with the state’s Medicaid expansion for three years.

Which brings us to Florida and the 2013 session. In February, Governor Rick Scott announced his support for expanding Medicaid to cover the uninsured, stating “I concluded that for three years the federal government is committed to paying 100 percent of the cost of new people in Medicaid; I cannot, in good conscience, deny the uninsured access to care.” This announcement alienated some of Governor Scott’s core supporters.

The Florida Legislature responded coolly to the governor’s position. House Speaker Will Weatherford publicly announced his opposition to the governor’s support and a House Committee followed the speaker’s lead by rejecting a Medicaid expansion proposal the night before the legislative session began. On Monday, March 11, a Senate select committee also rejected the expansion in a party-line vote, 7-4. However, this rejection does not spell defeat for uninsured Floridians. The committee chairman, Senator Joe Negron, signaled this was an opportunity for the state to move away from the federal Medicaid system and to create a basic health insurance plan for the Medicaid population.

How this issue is resolved during session will have far-reaching ramifications on a range of business issues, including allocation of the state’s $74+ billion budget, as well as how other legislative priorities are resolved.

Governor Scott has made teacher pay increases one of his top initiatives this year, while legislative leaders have prioritized higher education reform and changes to Florida’s ethics laws. Will the Legislature give deference to the governor’s proposed pay increases? Or will the Legislature reject the governor’s request on that issue as well and, instead, focus on passing its own priority items?

We will stay on top of these and other issues affecting Florida business as the 60-day legislative session continues. In the meantime, feel free to contact any member of Gunster’s Governmental Affairs practice team with any questions or items of concern to you and your business.