TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The administration of Gov. Rick Scott is now contending that the federal health care overhaul will cost state taxpayers billions more than estimates from just a few months ago.
Scott's health care agency has drawn up dramatic new estimates that now prices the cost of implementing the overhaul — including expanding the state's safety net health care program to thousands of Floridians currently ineligible — at nearly $26 billion over a 10 year period.
That's three times higher than the nearly $8 billion figure drawn up by state economists back in August — and has immediately come under suspicion by health care advocates.
State economists have not yet endorsed the new numbers from the Agency for Health Care Administration nor has the Florida Legislature. But the new numbers are sure to influence the ongoing debate about whether Florida will reject federal dollars intended to help the state expand its Medicaid program.
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