The Florida Senate continued to truck along with its Federal Health Insurance Exchange program proposal on Wednesday, passing the bill by a vote of 33-3.
Senators overwhelmingly supported the proposal, sponsored by Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, calling it a sensible solution to a looming problem facing needy Floridians.
"We can't close our eyes, cross our fingers and hope the problem will go away,” said Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, on the problem facing nearly 800,000 Floridians who fall into a health care gap. “To not pass this bill would be fiscally irresponsible.”
Under the FHIX 2.0 plan, the state would pay $5 billion to the federal government over the next 10 years.
FHIX recipients would be allowed to stay on the federal health care plan rather than opting into the state insurance plan -- they would receive premium credit to shop around for federal health care plans starting Jan. 1.
Several amendments to the bill honed in on eligibility requirements for the FHIX plan, tightening restrictions on exactly who would qualify for the plans -- enrollees would have to have proof they’re employed or actively seeking employment, are enrolled in school, or meet certain disability requirements to stay enrolled in the plan.
Another amendment -- one anti-Medicaid expansion senators deemed pivotal -- would require the FHIX program to “expire” at the end of a fiscal year if several instances occurred, including an expiration if the federal match contribution level dips below 90 percent. This, said senators, would give the state a chance to end the program if the feds didn’t hold up their end of the bargain.
Senators said they worked overtime on Tuesday following the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, which took a deeper look at the exact fiscal impact of the plan. According to estimates from legislative economist Amy Baker, the FHIX plan will generate $1.1 billion in new state revenue plus $16 billion from the federal government.
“We're looking at a long-term solution [to Medicaid expansion,]” said Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, to his fellow senators. “This is the future.”
Not all senators were onboard with FHIX -- Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, who was one of the three “nays” to the bill (along with Sens. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, and Travis Hutson, R-Elkton) said FHIX wasn’t a responsible plan for Florida.
“This plan is built on hopes and dreams, not a reality,” Brandes told reporters.
Although the bill’s passage in the Senate might seem like a victory toward expanding Medicaid in Florida, the legislation will have an incredibly difficult time passing in the Florida House. Brandes, Hays and Hutson's "no" votes, despite being the minority in the Senate, are much more likely to be the norm in the House.
FHIX is almost certainly headed to the legislative guillotine when that chamber takes it up Thursday. The House is expected to vote on the bill Friday.
The Senate will reconvene Friday at 1 p.m.
