Christine Jordan Sexton
Americans For Prosperity is taking its anti-Obamcare message to the Internet and is running an advertisement targeting the Florida Senate for its “spin” that the federal health care program would be beneficial to the state.
The 30-second commercial features President Obama‘s face on a spinning token with the Florida Capitol in the background.
“Florida Senators say it could solve the health crisis,” the television commercial says. “But it could add millions to the system without adding any doctors. They promise it will help low-income Floridians but less than half of the doctors accept Medicaid. They claim it creates money and saves job, but it costs billions and may lead to higher taxes. However they spin it, Medicaid expansion is bad for Florida.”
The video will appear on Internet sites statewide, Americans for Prosperity-Florida Communications director Andres Malave told Florida Politics. He added that the association is “prepared to share this message with Floridians as long as the Florida Senate continues to dive into potentially expanding Medicaid in Florida.”
The 2015 Legislative Session has come to a grinding halt over the issue of Medicaid expansion and the continuation of the supplemental funding secured by former Gov. Jeb Bush called Low Income Pool. The money — a combination of mostly federal and local but some state revenue — is used to help fund Florida hospitals for treating uninsured patients. It’s also used to fund federally qualified health centers, graduate medical education programs and Medicaid HMOs.
Florida has received LIP funding for nine years but the federal government advised Florida last year the supplemental dollars would expire this summer. Florida has tried to renegotiate the funding but the federal government told the state in a letter it thinks access to health care through Medicaid expansion is a better use of federal dollars than pools of money for uncompensated care, such as LIP.
Gov. Rick Scott has tried unsuccessfully to secure $2.1 billion in LIP funding and announced Thursday he would sue the federal government for “coercing” Florida into Medicaid expansion. Attorney General Pam Bondi said she would help the governor in his efforts.
Scott appeared on Fox News to trumpet his pending lawsuit — which at press time has not been filed — and accused the Obama administration of acting like The Sopranos, the fictional mafia family from the HBO series with the same name.
Malave said this is the statewide Internet video the group has run in Florida but it already bought two statewide radio buys and has sent three separate fliers. He refused to say how many fliers have been sent in the mail but he stressed that the Koch-brothers backed association is nonpartisan and sends both complimentary and critical mail pieces.
“We are equal opportunity for criticism or praise,” he said. “We will hold accountable any elected official that is supporting expanding Medicaid and bringing more of these job-killing policies into a jammed system, we are going to commend members” who oppose Medicaid expansion.
