The Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, gives states the option to expand Medicaid to a new class of able-bodied, working-age adults. Before this, Medicaid eligibility had traditionally been reserved for the truly needy, such as seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low-income kids.
States that expanded Medicaid before ObamaCare’s passage and implementation have also seen significant crowding out of private coverage. Rather than reducing the number of people without insurance, these states saw substantial drops in the number of individuals with private coverage.
Expanding Medicaid in Florida would crowd hundreds of thousands of able-bodied adults out of private insurance coverage and shift them into taxpayer-funded Medicaid. In fact, nearly two-thirds of these adults have private coverage already. Ultimately, ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion means taking resources away from the truly needy to fund a welfare expansion for those who already have private coverage.
