Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for re-election, chose not to answer questions Wednesday about whether he still supports Medicaid expansion -- for which the federal government has offered Florida $51 billion over the next decade as part of the Affordable Care Act.
Instead, as The Tampa Tribune reported, Scott criticized the Affordable Care Act for triggering the cancellation of many individual health policies that fail to meet the standards of the law that go into effect Jan. 1. (Actually in Florida, most of the canceled policies can be extended for a year).
Scott has changed his position on Medicaid expansion before. He ran for office opposing all parts of the ACA, including Medicaid expansion. But early this year, after it became clear that Florida was forfeiting billions of dollars that would go to other states, Scott shocked many by endorsing the Medicaid expansion for Florida. But when the Florida House blocked it, Scott failed to speak out on the matter.
Some states with Republican governors and legislatures have passed the Medicaid expansion. The federal government has given some permission to use the money to enroll the poor in private plans, rather than Medicaid.