More than $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid are wrapped into the health care reform bill that the U.S. Senate is now considering
The proposal would restructure the way Medicaid is financed, moving it from guaranteed funding based on need to a per-person cap with funding based on 2016 levels. Florida would have few options to make up for the loss in funding, said Joan Akler of Georgetown University.
"Florida's going to be faced with very bad choices,” said Akler. “Either you raise taxes or you cut Medicaid or you cut other parts of your budget like education and none of those is a good choice."
The change would mean significantly less money for seniors in nursing homes, the disabled, and more than 40 percent of Florida's children who are covered by Medicaid, she said.
