Opinion

Don't bite

Opinion of the, Panama City News-Herald
Published: January 16, 2013

Gov. Rick Scott has been telling state and national media he opposes participating in a federal plan to expand Medicaid as part of Obamacare because it would cost Florida taxpayers "$26 billion over 10 years." That number, he says, comes from a study done by the state's Agency for Health Care Administration. That's not exactly an impartial organization, as it is overseen by the governor.

A study by the independent Kaiser Family Foundation that took into account the increased federal Medicaid subsidies estimated the cost to Florida from 2014 through 2019 would be $1.23 billion, much less than Scott's frightening figure. Worse, legislative staff warned the agency and Scott's top health care adviser weeks ago that the $26 billion estimate was flawed because it ignored the increased federal support.

Instead of throwing around a definitive number, the governor should have questioned whether Washington will live up to its promises. Last summer, the Obama administration considered shifting some Medicaid costs back to states as part of a larger budget deal with Congress. That idea was abandoned last month, but who's to say it won't be revived as the nation's crushing debt continues to grow? Who knows what the political landscape will be in 2020? It's by no means a stretch to envision Washington trying to push even more of its fiscal problems on to the states.

Scott should point to that uncertainty as reason enough not to commit to such a costly expansion of Medicaid when Florida's share of the program already is consuming too much of the state's budget. Even if the feds delivered on their pledge that the state would never pay more than 10 percent of the expanded Medicaid costs, this still would be expensive. The governor's message should be: Don't be seduced by the feds' tempting fruit.