Florida Senate president shuts down Medicaid expansion in Florida

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo made it clear that she would not be willing to expand Medicaid, the subsidized insurance for low-income people, during her remarks on the opening day of the 2024 legislative session.

Although Passidomo proposes to expand access to healthcare through the “Live Healthy” legislation, Democrats’ hope for expanding subsidized coverage through Medicaid seems unlikely to materialize.

“I want to be clear. I’m not going to spend the next 60 days re-litigating Medicaid expansion. I understand the arguments both for and against,” she said Tuesday morning. “We have had the debate several times over the last decade. Medicaid expansion is not going to happen. It is not a quick fix. It is not a panacea.

In fact, if you cannot actually schedule an appointment with a health care provider, Medicaid expansion is nothing more than a false government promise.”

Just yesterday, Democratic Rep. Dotie Joseph filed a proposal to expand coverage, and Democratic leaders in the House announced it would be one of their priorities.

Instead, Passidomo’s initiative aims to retain and attack healthcare workers through additional residency slots and a student loan reimbursement program, among other things.

“This is a robust package of bills. It is complex but critically important. In order to care for our growing population and meet the increased demand for health care, we must expand our workforce, increase efficiencies and elevate quality,” Passidomo said.