A report today shows that states fully participating in the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act have significantly boosted access to medical care for their citizens. The report states that applications increased by 15 percent in October compared to the average monthly enrollment in July – September.

“While other states have put their tax dollars to work to provide health services, Florida Republicans have sent our tax dollars back to the federal government, recklessly leaving more than 800,000 of our neighbors without access to care and putting a significant number of jobs at risk,” U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said. 

For example, California has seen a 31 percent increase in the number of Medicaid applications submitted, Massachusetts has seen a 43 percent increase and Colorado has seen a 102 percent increase.

“The greatest outrage in Florida does not involve a website, but the intentional decision by Republican legislators to put Floridians at a disadvantage compared to other states by sending billions of our tax dollars elsewhere,” Rep. Castor said. "The Legislature’s decision sends $51 billion back to the federal government over the next 10 years and directs almost 1 million Floridians to ‘emergency room healthcare,’ which is more costly for our communities and neighbors who have insurance.” 

Business and healthcare industry leaders, including the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Hospital Association, have expressed strong support for Medicaid expansion in Florida and publicly urged state lawmakers to implement the law. Earlier this year, a Florida Hospital Association study found that Florida Medicaid expansion would generate more than 121,000 jobs over the next 10 years, including nearly 50,000 in the health care industry alone.

Today’s report was released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and is available here:  http://medicaid.gov/AffordableCareAct/Medicaid-Moving-Forward-2014/Medicaid-Moving-Forward-2014.html 

Millions of Americans have benefitted from Affordable Care Act reforms. For instance, important patient rights and protections have made it illegal for health insurance companies to arbitrarily cancel health insurance plans or discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions. In addition, young adults may remain on their parents’ plans until age 26 and 8.5 million consumers received a refund this year from their health insurance companies if at least 80 percent of their premiums weren’t spent on medical care. Medicare is stronger and beneficiaries have pocketed significant prescription cost savings.

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