The U.S. House siphoned the so-called "Gator Aid" provision out of one health-care bill, but that wasn't nearly enough for Florida business organizations. They remain adamantly opposed to anything that smacks of Obamacare.
The erstwhile proposal by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., would allow senior citizens on Medicare Advantage to stay in the program.
Prior to Sunday's House vote, Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said, "Of the one million or so Floridians participating in Medicare Advantage, about 800,000 are expected to be protected from possible cuts."
But, that protection was excised by the House, which deleted Nelson's language in one of its bills.
Good riddance, say Florida business groups.
"We're opposed to the entire legislation. It's flawed and dangerous," said Dan Krassner, spokesman for the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
"Our greatest concern is cost, and the need to enable the creation of more jobs by removing mandates, regulations and taxes. This (bill) increases them.
"We haven't seen any evidence that Medicare Advantage is creating any jobs or would create them," Krassner added.
Associated Industries of Florida says it is encouraged that Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is ramping up a legal challenge to any health-care bill that comes out of Washington.
"While our members have not taken an official position on the attorney general's lawsuit, we are encouraged by any action that questions the current reforms passed by Congress," said AIF vice president Jose Gonzalez.
"AIF is strongly opposed to any effort by government to alter the private market. We have seen the failures of Citizens property insurance in Florida, and this should serve as a warning for what happens when government gets involved in the insurance business."
Though the Medicare Advantage exemption was deleted from the reconciliation bill that now goes to the Senate, the version of the bill sent to President Barack Obama still contains the proposal.
In an unusual two-step process, the House passed the Senate's health care bill Monday night, and then passed the reconciliation bill right after that.
"Since the Senate health bill already passed the Senate, it can go to the president to be signed," said a House staffer, speaking on background.
The staffer added:
"The reconciliation bill is for hammering out spending/budgetary details and making amendments to the Senate health-care bill that were made to secure enough votes for passage in the House.
"The reconciliation bill needs only 51 votes whereas if the House had simply made changes to the Senate health-care bill, that bill would have had to go back to the Senate where it would have needed 60 votes," the staffer explained.
The chamber's Krassner said, "The (Nelson provision) is likely to be removed by the Senate, just as it was in the House."
Nelson was not available for comment.
Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, voted against the health-care bill, but wasn't ready to throw out Medicare Advantage.
Under this bill, millions of seniors will lose their current health plan, Posey said. We should allow Medicare Advantage to continue for everybody -- everyone should be allowed to keep their current plan.
Though critics mockingly dubbed Nelson's provision "Gator Aid," the St. Petersburg Times' PolitiFact Web site noted that Florida seniors wouldn't be the only ones covered.
"Specifically, the money targets communities and areas where the cost of service is highest and allows those people to use the old rules," PolitiFact stated.
"The language in the (Senate) health-care bill, which begins on Page 894, never mentions Florida or any specific state. Rather, it creates a difficult-to-follow formula to determine just who should be protected from the changes."
McLaughlin said seniors in several states would benefit from Nelson's provision.
For all the criticism Nelson's measure has incurred, analysts say it could be less costly than two other special spiffs in the Senate bill.
Louisiana and Nebraska senators each wrangled an extra $100 million in Medicaid benefits for their states. That means Florida and the remaining states will have to add enrollees to their Medicaid programs without receiving federal funds to pay the added costs.
To which, Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, said, "I opposed the Nelson carve-out just like I opposed deals like the Cornhusker Kickback and the Louisiana Purchase. We shouldn't be in the business of picking winners and losers, and certain states shouldn't get special deals while the rest of the country splits the tab.
"The Democrats' bill cuts half a trillion dollars from Medicare and virtually eliminates the Medicare Advantage program. We need to repeal these cuts, not just for seniors in Florida, but for Medicare patients across the country."
Reach Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 224-2386
