The Obama administration’s decision to delay the Affordable Care Act health insurance mandate on employers decreased some of the leverage advocates of expanding Medicaid in Florida had on lawmakers, but it certainly won’t put a stop to the debate.
On July 3rd, House Republicans cast the one-year delay as evidence that lawmakers should be concerned about the consequences of the law, which they claim is deeply flawed.
Meanwhile, supporters of Medicaid expansion said the decision of the federal government shouldn’t affect deliberations in Florida.
Businesses need additional time to comply
The Obama administration announced the yearlong setback Tuesday, stating businesses need additional time to comply. As part of the law, companies with over 50 full-time employees need to provide health care coverage to their workers or be subject to considerable fines.
The mandate mainly affects small- to medium-sized businesses that usually pay low wages, such as the restaurant and hotel industry. A few worried businesses would cut back their workforce or decrease workers’ hours to skirt the rule.
Many larger employers, like Publix, currently offer insurance to full-time employees and are mostly unaffected by the delay.
In Florida, state lawmakers tacked on a second wrinkle when they rejected plans to expand Medicaid. Starting next year, it would have been necessary for businesses to provide health care coverage to people who otherwise might have qualified for Medicaid.
With that requirement now pushed back, it is unlikely businesses will pressure lawmakers to approve a Medicaid deal.
The law’s “heart is in the right place, but it’s such a massive change,” said Florida Retail Federation president Rick McAllister. “What happened this week should be a model for all aspects of it. Nobody is going to repeal this, but we can take our time and make it work.”
Executive director of the Florida chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, Bill Herrle, said the delay “is evidence a poorly knit sweater is fraying at the edges.”
Individual mandate law
The federal government said it is moving forward with other parts of the law, including the individual mandate, which requires that most Americans have health insurance or face a penalty.
The discussions in Washington should not impact what happens in Tallahassee, said Rep. Mike Fasano. Fasano, R-New Port Richey, was the single House Republican to support using as much as $51 billion in federal money over 10 years to reduce the number of uninsured, a plan also backed by the Senate and Gov. Rick Scott.
“With all great respect to them, one has nothing to do with the other,” said Fasano.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who said he supports the delay but doesn’t think it should be an excuse for Florida to abandon Medicaid expansion, echoed the message.
“The delay by Florida’s governor and Legislature to expand Medicaid is inexcusable,” Nelson said in a statement on Facebook. “It will deny health coverage to more than one million Floridians, while the state itself will face the loss of $51 billion in federal funds.”
Even prior to the decision by the federal government, Senate President Don Gaetz had appealed to the Obama administration seeking flexibility from the terms of the Medicaid expansion, which requires the state cover anyone who meets the income threshold.
Gaetz said Florida should have the ability to chose who is covered under an expansion and be allowed to charge more for doctor visits and premiums than the program currently allows.
McAllister, with the Florida Retail Federation, said he believes Tuesday’s announcement does little to change the dynamic in Tallahassee — where House Republicans seem dug in against the health care law.
“I’ve heard Will Weatherford say he thinks it’s a bait-and-switch,” he said. “The speaker is not inclined to revisit the issue — which is pretty much a death knell.”
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