Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday he will sue the administration for threatening to yank away some health funding, saying he believes President Obama is using the money to try to bully him into agreeing to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
Mr. Scott, who once supported expansion but has since backed off, said the administration is violating the very 2012 decision that upheld Obamacare, but which also ruled states must be given a choice over whether to expand Medicaid or forfeit all of their health money under the federal-state partnership.
“In fact, the court ruled that the president could not use ’gun to the head’ approaches in pushing for Medicaid expansion,” Mr. Scott said.
At issue is $2.2 billion for a program known as the Low Income Pool, which reimburses hospitals for treating Medicaid patients and the uninsured. The funding is set to expire in June, and Mr. Scott wants a renewal.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent Florida a letter Tuesday saying it was phasing out the LIP program and saying the state should expand Medicaid as a better way to cover the poor and rein in hospital costs.
“We believe that the future of the LIP, sufficient provider rates, and Medicaid expansion are linked in considering a solution for Florida’s low income citizens, safety net providers, and taxpayers,” wrote Vikki Wachino, Medicaid’s acting chief.
Mr. Scott took that as a direct threat.
“Not only does President Obama’s end to LIP funding in Florida violate the law by crossing the line into a coercion tactic for Obamacare, it also threatens poor families’ access to the safety net healthcare services they need,” he said.
The governor’s tough legal talk didn’t convince everyone. State Senate President Andy Gardiner, a Republican from Orlando, said he respects Mr. Scott’s right to defend the state’s interests, but said the federal government isn’t obligated to provide LIP funding or to send the money within the state’s timeframe. He said the squabble threatens to undo state budget negotiations.
“From where I sit, it is difficult to understand how suing CMS on day 45 of a 60 day session regarding an issue the state has been aware of for the last 12 months will yield a timely resolution to the critical health care challenges facing our state,” he said.
State Democrats, meanwhile, accused Mr. Scott of grandstanding.
“Federal dollars are federal dollars, whether they’re spent on LIP or Medicaid expansion. The only difference is one has ’Obamacare’ stamped on them,” said Senate Democratic Leader Arthenia Joyner, of Tampa.
The administration said Florida is free to choose whether to expand Medicaid, and said that’s independent of the LIP funding, which is set to expire on June 30.
Florida is among states that have grappled with whether to extend Medicaid to those making 138 percent of the federal poverty level, since the government will pick up the tab for expansion in 2014-2016 before scaling back its contribution to 90 percent by 2020.
Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have opted to expand their programs, although six more are considering it, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit that studies health policy.
Mr. Scott surprised observers by supporting expansion in 2013, despite his clear distaste for Obamacare overall, yet Republican lawmakers thwarted his plans.
The governor this year said he no longer supports expansion, saying he doubts Washington will live up to its end of the bargain.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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