Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

As a retired banker, I'd frame the choice as follows...

Adopt the Medicaid provisions contained in the Affordable Healhcare Act and either modify provisions of the state program to reduce costs or raise taxes to pay for the program, or both.

OR...

Permit the state Medicaid program to expire or be so constrained in size that millions of Floridians would lose any healthcare insurance and be forced to use emergency rooms for their sole source of care. That option would not be free to Floridians, of course. Insurance companies will increase the premiums for those who are insured to pay for the newly uninsured former Medicaid patients. In essence, that's a hidden tax on those who can afford to pay

.A decision not to insure millions of indigent Floridians, mostly elderly, is not only inhumane in my opinion, but also far more costly in the long run, and certainly erodes the quality and length of life for millions of people. Then there's that "hidden tax", wherein those with insurance will wind up paying for care provided to the uninsured.

To answer your question, yes I think the governor should adopt the Medicare provisions of ACA, even though taxes would have to be increased to pay for it. Certainly the fundamental health of Florida citizens is a more important priority than many of the other expenditures at the state level.