Florida Republicans Spearhead National Front For Medicaid Block Grants Post-Obamacare

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Following the Trump Administration’s swift executive order to financially unburden the states of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans now carefully explore ways to repeal or replace Obamacare. The executive order did not go as far as to repeal the law but, rather, to amend it such that the Secretary of Health and Human Services can now work with other department heads to defer and delay any Obamacare requirement that costs the states money. This serves as a temporary solution until a new healthcare program can be implemented, and one of the more permanent suggestions with heavy support from Florida is making headway.

Joe Negron, President of the Florida Senate, has publicly stated that he believes Congress will probably opt for funding Medicaid via block grants as opposed to the uncapped matching formula fueled by Obamacare. Block grants are essentially “lump sums” contributed by the federal government to the states, and in this context, the states would use this money to fund Medicaid for all the program’s enrolled patients. For all expenses exceeding the total of the grant, the states would pay the difference.