Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

Florida unlikely to mandate work for Medicaid, officials say

Orlando Sentinel: TALLAHASSEE — While the Trump administration signaled willingness to allow work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, the Florida Legislature is unlikely to move ahead with such a mandate this year.

House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, said Wednesday the state’s $26 billion Medicaid program is comprised mostly of children and seniors and that work requirements are more geared toward able-bodied adults who qualify for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare.

“I think that’s geared toward Obamacare expansion, not to our plan, since we didn’t expand,” Corcoran said of imposing work requirements. “We don’t have childless able-bodied working age adults in our system, so I don’t know how that would transpose to us. If you look at our Medicaid population, mostly children, mostly seniors, and single pregnant moms, I don’t think that is necessarily something that we would do.”

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