U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, calling the Florida Legislature's failure to expand Medicaid "unconscionable and callous," has asked Gov. Rick Scott to call a special session. His letters on Monday added to a chorus from other Democrats in Washington and in Florida.
But as the Times/Herald Bureau reports, House Speaker Will Weatherford says there would be no point in reconvening without a plan in place on what to do to resolve the gap between his chamber and the Senate. Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has drawn praise from some conservative groups for refusing to take federal funds connected to the Affordable Care Act.
During the session, Scott and the Senate agreed on an Arkansas-style plan that would accept $51 billion in federal funds over a decade and expand coverage to an estimated 1.1 million of the state's lowest-income uninsured. The House said no.