Call a Special Session to Expand Medicaid
Florida State Legislators
What's going on?
Governor DeSantis is about to kick close to a million Floridians off of Medicaid, and force close to two million to reapply for coverage or reenroll. This is unacceptable! Demand your legislators take action by signing this petition.
How is this possible?
When the Covid-era public health emergency (PHE) ends on March 31, 2023, Governor DeSantis will kick at least 850,000 children and working Floridians off of Medicaid and push up to 1.75 million to re-apply or re-enroll.
Florida's Republican-led legislature chose this path when they refused to expand Medicaid access under the terms of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), passed in 2014, even though 90% of the cost of expanding coverage would be borne by the Federal government. They chose the very short-term political benefit of disagreeing with President Obama's health care policies over the health of all Floridians.
The parts of Obamacare that are open to Floridians are extremely popular. According to the Miami Herald, Florida is the state with the largest number of Obamacare enrollees, with an all-time-high of over 3.2 million people enrolled in 2023!
However, many have suffered under our state's refusal to expand Medicaid to a larger number of low-income adults (individuals making less than $ 17,236 per year), although the PHE measures provided a temporary reprieve.
Fortunately, the Florida legislature can close this unfair and unnecessary coverage gap at any time, if we raise our voices.
Demand that the Florida legislature convene a special session to expand Medicaid now! This change will save lives, and save taxpayer dollars. It is the right thing to do for all Floridians.
Sponsored by
To:
Florida State Legislators
From:
[Your Name]
As the pandemic’s public health emergency (PHE) ends on March 31, 2023, the Florida Legislature and Governor DeSantis will kick at least 850,000 children and working Floridians off Medicaid and push up to 1.75 million to re-apply or re-enroll. This will force hardworking families across the state to lose coverage.
Sadly, some eligible beneficiaries will lose coverage due to existing administrative and procedural failures that will multiply when the PHE ends. Floridians with private insurance will also pay the price with higher premiums to compensate for patients unable to afford care.
In addition, Florida has lost out on over 100,000 new jobs and given away at least $6.6 billion of our federal tax dollars to expand other states’ Medicaid programs, but not our own.
This leaves 400,000 working Floridians without any realistic access to healthcare since they make too much to qualify, but not enough to afford care on their own.
These are folks that earn less than 138% of poverty line wages – about $18,000 annually for an individual and about $35,000 for a family of four.
By cutting off so many working Floridians from care, and rejecting a federal partnership which covers 90% of the cost to expand Medicaid, Florida throws away over $200 million of our state’s tax dollars every year and families suffer.
Through Medicaid Expansion, the state would save about 50% of those that would otherwise face crippling medical bankruptcy. Following state funding cuts, it would also support our public and community hospitals that care for critically ill pregnant women, premature babies, children, and trauma patients – like victims of car accidents or gun violence. Ultimately, providing access to care for Floridians not only helps working families and children facing poverty, it grows our economy, improves quality of life, and supports the hospitals that take care of us all.
We therefore ask for you to call for a special legislative session to expand Medicaid NOW to save lives and protect the health of all Floridians.