-
Editorials
- Bradenton Herald
- Daytona Beach News-Journal
- Florida Times-Union
- Florida Today
- Ft. Myers News-Press
- Gainesville Sun
- Lakeland Ledger
- Miami Herald
- Naples Daily News
- NWF Daily News
- Ocala Star-Banner
- Orlando Sentinel
- Palm Beach Post
- Pensacola News Journal
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- TCPalm
- Sun-Sentinel
- Tallahassee Democrat
- Tampa Bay Times
- Columnists
- Cartoons
-
Press Releases
- Sayfie Review
- Jose Oliva
- Nikki Fried
- Bill Galvano
- Ron DeSantis
- Marco Rubio
- Ashley Moody
- Rick Scott
- Jimmy Patronis
- Congressional Delegation ≻
- Matt Gaetz
- Neal Dunn
- Kat Cammack
- Aaron Bean
- John Rutherford
- Michael Waltz
- Cory Mills
- Bill Posey
- Darren Soto
- Maxwell Frost
- Daniel Webster
- Gus Bilirakis
- Anna Paulina Luna
- Kathy Castor
- Laurel Lee
- Vern Buchanan
- Greg Steube
- Scott Franklin
- Byron Donalds
- Sheila Cherfilus McCormick
- Brian Mast
- Lois Frankel
- Jared Moskowitz
- Frederica Wilson
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Mario Diaz-Balart
- Maria Elvira Salazar
- Carlos Gimenez
- Political Links
-
News Links
- Drudge Report
- NewsMax.com
- AP Florida News
- ABC News' The Note
- NBC News' First Read
- Florida Channel
- Florida TV Stations
- Florida Radio Stations
- Capitol Update
- Florida Newspapers
- Florida Trend
- South Florida Business Journal
- Tampa Bay Business Journal
- Orlando Business Journal
- Jacksonville Business Journal
- News Service of Florida
- Politico Playbook
- Washington Post The Daily 202
-
Research
- Florida Fiscal Portal
- Search Florida Laws
- Search House Bills
- Search Senate Bills
- Search County, City Laws
- Search County Clerks' Records
- Cabinet Agendas, Transcripts
- Search Executive Orders
- Search Atty. General Opinions
- Search Supreme Court Docket
- Florida Supreme Court Rulings
- Search Florida Corporations
- Search Administrative Rules
- Proposed Administrative Rules
- View Advertised Contracts
- Refdesk.com
- Government Services Guide
- Electoral Vote Map
-
Reference
- Florida House
- Florida Senate
- Find Your Congressman
- Find Your State Legislator
- Find Your Local Officials
- Find Government Phone #'s
- Florida Agencies
- Florida Cities
- Florida Counties
- Florida Universities
- County Tax Collectors
- County Property Appraisers
- County Clerks of Court
- County Elections Supervisors
- MyFlorida.com
- OPPAGA
- Advertise with us
Times: Here's why the Electoral College needs to be fixed
Times: Here's why Trump could pick Marjorie Taylor Greene as his running mate
Herald: We must unite to fight rising hate crimes. Here's how Miami can help | Opinion
Sun-Sentinel: Veto this very bad vacation rental bill, Governor | Editorial
Times: Put Hillsborough teacher pay on ballot | Editorial
Herald: Florida's new social media ban makes a big splash but here's how it will cost us | Opinion
Times: Here's a path to affordable Florida property insurance and coastal resilience
Times: A third party is the coward's way out
Sun-Sentinel: The crisis in Haiti demands a humanitarian response | Editorial
House Speaker: ‘No plans’ to expand Medicaid coverage
By MARGIE MENZEL
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, January 28, 2015..........Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli on Wednesday said his chamber has "no plans" to expand Medicaid coverage to an additional 800,000 residents during the upcoming legislative session.
"We do not plan to do anything on Medicaid expansion," Crisafulli told reporters and editors at the annual Associated Press Legislative Planning Day at the Capitol. "I am a never-say-never kind of guy, and certainly anything can come about that provides opportunity, but at this time we do not plan to hear Medicaid expansion."
Crisafulli and Senate President Andy Gardiner appeared together at the event, and expansion of health coverage was the only issue in which they even slightly disagreed.
Last month, Gardiner described as "intriguing" a proposal that would accept billions of dollars available under the federal Affordable Care Act to provide health care through private insurers to low- and moderate-income residents --- an idea similar to expanding Medicaid. On Wednesday, Gardiner stayed flexible on the issue.
"There probably should be some sort of an overall discussion," Gardiner said. "In the Senate, we continue to remain open to the dialogue, but we understand the realities in which we live."
The reality is that while Crisafulli didn't absolutely rule out the possibility of an alternative health-care plan, he called Medicaid "a broken system." He also pointed with pride to the Legislature's 2011 Medicaid overhaul, which moved most beneficiaries into HMOs and other types of managed-care plans.
Gardiner said he'd been watching developments in Indiana, where Republican Gov. Mike Pence announced Tuesday that his state had accepted federal funding under the Affordable Care Act for an alternative to expanding Medicaid. The Indiana plan is expected to extend health-care coverage to 350,000 people.
Gardiner, R-Orlando, and Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, were sworn into the Legislature's top positions in November and are preparing for the March 3 start of the legislative session. They agreed on most of a legislative agenda, such as tax cuts, water policy, controls on high-stakes testing, more funding for education and the environment, adoption incentives and a plan to expand economic independence for people with disabilities.
On tax cuts, Crisafulli quoted House Finance & Tax Chairman Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, saying, "No tax is safe." Gardiner added, "It's a belief that the dollars are better with the taxpayers."
On water policy, the Senate president and House speaker agreed that Florida must make a permanent commitment to maintaining access to clean water in every part of the state. They also pledged transparency in legislative spending under Amendment I, a conservation ballot initiative that passed in November with 75 percent of the vote.
The Senate president, whose son Andrew was born with Down syndrome, presented a six-point plan to promote educational and vocational opportunities for Floridians with --- as Gardiner likes to call them --- "unique abilities." The plan would establish a statewide postsecondary designation for such students, expand scholarships, teach financial literacy and honor businesses that hire workers with disabilities.
On high-stakes testing, Crisafulli said he didn't believe the state could "back down" from such accountability, because it had produced "remarkable results." But to parents and teachers who argue that testing has taken over the education process, he said, "We hear you."
He said lawmakers were discussing making more information about testing requirements available to the public.
"There's duplication in testing from district to district, with regard to what the districts are doing with the overlay of the state," he said. "And we're going to look at that. … Some of these tests that are taking place are certainly state tests, but there are also county tests or district tests that are being put on top of that."
But Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, said parents are "rebelling against high-stakes testing. It's reached critical mass, and I believe the politicians are listening to the people."
On medical marijuana, too, Joyner said the majority of Floridians support it, as evidenced by the nearly 58 percent who voted to legalize therapeutic pot in November.
"The people have spoken, and it appears my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are listening," she said --- a reference to a bill filed Monday by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, that would allow patients to use marijuana if they suffer from diseases such as cancer, AIDS, epilepsy or multiple sclerosis.
As to the Democrats' legislative agenda, both Joyner and House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, tried to draw hope where they could in the Republican-dominated Legislature.
"We want a full debate" on Medicaid expansion, Pafford said. "You heard the speaker --- he's not a never-say-never guy."
Joyner, who said expanding Medicaid remains one of her top priorities, said she was hopeful because some members of powerful business lobbies are backing an alternative health-care coverage plan.
"Maybe this is the year Florida will embrace this concept that is so fundamental to the health care and economics of our state," she said.