Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP-led Legislature are considering a series of legislative actions regarding the Medicaid program which, if implemented, will not only undermine the program, but bring about major job losses and negatively impact Florida’s economy.
In an effort to close the $3.5 billion budget gap in 2011-12, across the board spending cuts are being considered, including slashing of the Medicaid program. But, cuts to the Medicaid program will cost the state at least 200,000 jobs and $125 billion in total economic impact by the end of the decade, warns a report from the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy.
Economic benefits of the Medicaid program to Florida’s economy is unmatched by any other major category of state spending, as it supports thousands of health care providers throughout the state. These include, hospitals, nursing facilities, group homes and community health centers, the report notes. In turn, such spending supports millions of jobs and goods and services necessary for the provision of health care.
One of the proposals the state is considering is “opting out” of the Medicaid partnership and this means federal funding will be lost. While the state will save $10.3 billion in the first year, the report notes, it will lost $11.7 billion from the federal government, cost Florida 135,000 jobs and occasion a negative economic impact to the tune of $14.7 billion.
If even Florida did not “opt out” of the federal Medicaid partnership, but instead scaled back its Medicaid program, along the lines proposed by the Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA), this will likely cost the state $1.5 billion in federal dollars and more than 14,000 jobs, the report points out. Indeed, the services identified for elimination include adult dental, vision and hearing, all podiatry and chiropractic services, cuts in provider payment rates and increases in assessments on providers.
The report also points out opposition to the new health care act is flawed, given that its expansion will not only increase productivity of those uninsured low-wage workers, but most certainly help prop up Florida’s sagging economy. While currently the state’s contribution to the Medicaid program yields a strong return by any measure, the terms of the health care act when fully implemented in 2014, are even more favorable.
“The fact is, an average annual investment of $200 million in state funding translates to $26.6 billion in total economic impact over the 6-year-period, a more than twentyfold return on investment,” the report states.
Gov. Scott campaigned on adding 700,000 jobs to Florida’s economy over the next seven years.
Scott should commit to preserving and bolstering Florida’s Medicaid program, for not only does it provide health care coverage for the lowest-income and most vulnerable Floridians, thereby meeting a critical need that otherwise would not be met, but it is a uniquely powerful growth engine, the report states.
