George Gibbs Center for Economic Prosperity

Cap⁠i⁠⁠t⁠ol News Serv⁠i⁠ce — Supreme Cour⁠t⁠ Rul⁠i⁠ng Had B⁠i⁠gges⁠t⁠ Impac⁠t⁠ ⁠i⁠n Flor⁠i⁠da

By: The James Madison Institute / 2015

Capitol News Service
“Supreme Court Ruling Had Biggest Impact in Florida”
June 25, 2015
By Matt GalkaA ruling from the United States Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, keeps the plan in tact. As Matt Galka tells us, Florida had the most to lose if the ruling went the other way.Six million Americans were at risk of losing federal subsidies for healthcare if the United States Supreme Court ruled that way Thursday.  In a 6-3 decision, justices upheld the Affordable Care Act subsidy program.Obamacare supporters say that Florida lucked out because of the ruling. Florida had the most to lose.  1.3 million people in the state currently enrolled in the program could have been out of luck.  Damien Filer with Progress Florida says the state dodged a bullet.“More than a million Floridians, more than anyone else in the country, would have potentially have lost their healthcare coverage that their families are depending upon,” he said.But Sal Nuzzo with political think tank the James Madison Institute was disappointed in the decision. He says long term healthcare affordability problems will still plague the state.“Florida will continue to face several challenges with respect to healthcare service delivery, we will face an impending doctor shortage, we will need to champion innovation in healthcare service delivery,” he said.The Governor addressed the ruling at an event in St. Augustine.“It’s a bad law. It’s made promises after promises. Remember it was supposed to reduce healthcare costs. Costs have gone up. Exchanges around the country are collapsing,” said Gov. Rick Scott (R-Florida)The Florida legislature faced a healthcare funding crisis in 2015 which caused state Senators to push for Medicaid expansion using federal money. The effort failed. Had the court ruled the other way – no contingency plan would have been in place for the more than one million Floridians who would have had their healthcare taken away.Florida’s Senate President released a statement supporting the decision, but used the ruling to continue pushing for Medicaid expansion in the state.Article: http://www.flanews.com/?p=27104