Medicaid overhaul amendment rushed past Senate floor.

As senators set to the task of refining a proposed $68.6 billion budget, Sen. Joe Negron, R-Palm City, and two of the Senate's leading Republicans surprised the floor with a proposal to make the state Medicaid program more closely resemble private insurance.

Senators Negron, Don Gaetz, R-Destin, and Mike Haridopolos,R-Melbourne, slipped in a proviso that would require residents with higher incomes to pay deductibles or supplement Medicaid with private insurance and allow the Legislature to change eligibility requirements for certain optional programs.

Leading the charge, Negron said the changes will cut down on state costs and make Medicaid easier to budget. With the recently approved federal health care reform raising eligibility, the state's Medicaid system faces a flood of applications, with the state projected to pay $19 billion this year.

"It's the only program where you're spending $19 billion, and no one's happy," he said.

The amendment, which passed 28-12 along party lines, drew criticism from Democrats, who lambasted Negron for not bringing the bill before committee and rushing a vote.

This is a huge appropriations issue," said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. "It does not belong, passed or defeated, on the floor today."