The Legislature's decision on whether to accept billions of federal Medicaid dollars to cover about 1 million of this state's uninsured could have a major impact on the economy, a team of University of Florida economics professors say.
Their study, released Friday by the Florida Hospital Association, forecast that the expansion -- which would trigger an estimated $51 billion in federal funds to the state over 10 years -- could generate almost 122,000 permanent jobs.
It would also bring in more than $540 million a year in tax revenue for local and state governments, according to the study, "Economic Impacts of Extending Health Care Coverage in Florida."
Co-author Alan Hodges, director of the UF program in Economic Impact Analysis, explained the results in a video of the FHA's press conference.
Also, alink to the study is on the FHA website.