Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant issued a statement saying “sometimes there are no words” after Gov. Rick Scott told reporters he supported Medicaid expansion in 2013 because the state had just gotten approval from the federal government to expand its mandatory managed care program for three years.
“The lengths to which Rick Scott will go to mislead the public are disgusting,” she said in a release. “Shame is not a strong enough word.”
Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday that he supported broadening Medicaid access to 800,000 uninsured Floridians in 2013 because the federal government had just approved extending an 1115 waiver.
“It was the day we were able to get our waivers done from CMS for a Medicaid program that we revised,” Scott said Thursday in reference to the statewide Medicaid managed care expansion, while explaining his support of the expansion in 2013.
Scott made national headlines on that Feb. 20 when he announced his support for a limited expansion of Medicaid to childless adults with certain restrictions. The press conference was the same day he had received tentative approval from the federal government to extend the 1115 waiver for an additional three years as well as the Low Income Pool, which is part of the waiver.
Scott reiterated his support for Medicaid expansion on the campaign trail in 2014, but reversed his position during the 2015 Regular Session.
Florida is trying to get its supplemental Medicaid financing program extended beyond June 30. The governor, frustrated by the negotiations, has sued the federal government in Pensacola federal court for “coercing” the state into a Medicaid expansion.
Reporter James Call contributed to this story.
