Congresswoman Lois Frankel held a 9:30 am press conference at FoundCare in West Palm Beach on Monday, July 14, 2014 calling for closing the Florida’s Medicaid Gap and highlighting a newly issued White House report.

The report, released earlier this month by the Council of Economic Advisors prognosticated that states, including Florida, that refuse to accept federal dollars under the Affordable Care Act to close the Medicaid Gap put lives at risk and hinder economic growth. 

So far, this affects 5.7 million people, including 848,000 Floridians, 80,000 in Palm Beach County.  These recalcitrant states are also forgoing billions in federal dollars that could boost their economies. Specifically, Florida is a minimum of $20 billion in federal dollars over the next ten years.

“Failure to close the Medicaid Gap is damaging to Floridians’ health, and harmful to Florida’s economy,” said Frankel.  “We have a new category of the working wounded,” she added.

As the Florida House voted last year not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, those earning below the poverty line, $11,490 for an individual or $23,550 for a family of four, aren't eligible for tax credits through the online marketplace. Without those tax credits, most people living below the poverty line can't afford coverage. In Florida, generally only children, pregnant women, the disabled and single parents or caretakers of underage children are eligible for Medicaid.

The report finds that if Florida accepted the federal resources to close the Medicaid gap, thousands of people would get recommended preventive screenings that would save lives and drive down health care costs. By example it estimates that 35,000 Florida women would have gotten a mammogram and more than 52,000 would have gotten a Pap smear in the past year.

The report also refutes arguments that there will be a hit on Florida’s budget when the federal funding ends in three years. It estimates that 63,800 new health care jobs such as doctors, nurses, and lab technicians will be created in the next three years.  This coincides with a Georgetown University study forecasting that Florida will save about $100 million annually by accepting the federal ACA money because it would no longer have to pay for the treatment of the uninsured in hospitals, public clinics and other facilities using state tax dollars. 

Congresswoman Frankel was joined by representatives from FoundCare and the Health Care District of Palm Beach County.

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