Letter to Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida - Wilson Leads Letter Urging Gov. DeSantis to Expand Medicaid Under the ACA

Letter

Dear Governor DeSantis:

In light of the global pandemic that we are facing, we write to request that you move the state of Florida forward by opting-in to the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid.

Expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has played an important role in reducing the
uninsured rate and enabling the most vulnerable people in our country to get access to health care.
The uninsured rate dropped from 22 percent among working-age people (i.e., 18-to-64-year-olds) in 2014 to 13 percent in 2018. In 2019, all but 17 states have expanded Medicaid for people with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

Despite evidence that shows how Medicaid expansion leads to coverage gains, improved access, and more affordable care, Florida remains one of 17 states that have not expanded. Estimates by Kaiser Family Foundation suggest that Medicaid expansion in Florida would increase the number of insured by more than 850 thousand people. Moreover, the state is estimated to leave more than $65 billion on the table over the next 10 years by not expanding Medicaid. More important than the positive impact on coverage and the economy, Medicaid expansion has an undeniably positive impact on health outcomes. According to a survey of studies conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, positive health outcomes significantly increased in states that expanded Medicaid participation.

The lack of access to care is especially troubling during this global pandemic. As of April 21, 2020, the state of Florida had 27,495 official cases of coronavirus. That number includes 4,063 hospitalizations and more than 800 deaths. Many of those impacted are in black, brown and poor communities that have traditionally been saddled with untreated underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus. Those underlying conditions are exactly the kinds of conditions preventative care would address under a Medicaid expansion.

Given the existential threat that the global coronavirus pandemic poses to the people of Florida,
expanding Medicaid is no longer a matter of political ideology--it is a matter of survival. Our ability to make medical care available to every Floridian is crucial to our state's ability to combat this pandemic and the next health crisis that is sure to come.

For these reasons we implore you to move quickly with the Florida legislature to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Sincerely

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