The forced expansion of Medicaid in Florida by federal laws and Florida Governor Rick Scott is under fire by a growing number of Floridians. Although the federal government would initially spend $7.5 billion on the program (with money it does not have) to help Florida expand Medicaid for Floridians, by 2019 Florida taxpayers will be on the hook for in excess of $600 million and potentially $1 billion to fund the expansion. This has sounded the alarm for many Florida taxpayers and would like to see a halt to it.The effect of the expansion would put approximately one million Floridians into a low-quality, government-managed health insurance system which is already wrought with problems. Florida Governor Rick Scott has endorsed the expansion raising the ire of a growing number of Floridians. “As long as the federal government is going to pay 100 percent, then I cannot in good conscience stand in the way of some people getting care that are uninsured,” Scott said.At a time when Florida has been working to distance itself from the federal strings attached to federal monies, the Medicaid expansion would reverse that trend. The federal government is attempting to do a one-size-fits-all program rather than allowing states to compete and put forth the best programs from their citizens. The federal government sucks out 15-35% of the costs to provide federal programs and many believe it could be handled much more efficiently on the state level.According to Bob Sanchez, policy director at the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee, the competition “could foster a healthy form of competition between and among the various states as they try to deliver public services more efficiently, with due respect for the taxpayers’ dollars.”http://www.examiner.com/article/florida-s-medicaid-program-under-attack-from-the-feds-and-rick-scott
