Business coalitions warn Florida’s failure to expand Medicaid will hurt them
TALLAHASSEE -- Two business-backed health insurance coalitions sent a warning signal Wednesday to Florida’s employers about the effects of rejecting Medicaid expansion for the uninsured.
In a nutshell: brace yourselves, this is bad for business.
They argue that if lawmakers continue to turn away an estimated $51 billion in federal money to pay for expanding Medicaid coverage, companies will restrict growth, businesses will flee to states with more competitive health insurance markets and any company left standing that pays for health insurance will see its premiums rise as hospitals and doctors shift losses to them.
“It will further the upward pressure of the cost shift to the commercially-insured patients,’’ said William Kramer, health care policy expert from the Pacific Business Group on Health in a conference call with reporters. The coalition represents large businesses in 50 states — from Walt Disney Company, Target, Walmart and Boeing to Wells Fargo. In other words, health care reform won’t reduce costs for employers and employees in Florida, it will increases costs, they said.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/19/3460453/business-coalitions-warn-floridas.html#storylink=cpy
