State analysts this month will begin a series of meetings to consider the financial impact of a proposed constitutional amendment that would expand Medicaid coverage.
The Financial Impact Estimating Conference will hold a workshop on the proposal June 28 and will hold three additional meetings on the issue in July and August, according to a notice posted on the Florida Senate website.
The proposal, which supporters hope to place on the November 2020 ballot, would expand Medicaid coverage to low-income adults who currently are not eligible. Florida lawmakers have repeatedly rejected such an expansion, which is optional for states as part of the federal Affordable Care Act.
The proposed constitutional amendment would expand eligibility to people whose incomes are up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, an amount that varies depending on the number of people in a family.
Under state law, the Financial Impact Estimating Conference is required to analyze how such initiatives would affect revenues and costs for state and local governments. A newly passed state law (HB 5) also will require the analysts to evaluate impacts to the economy and the state budget.
