Governor Scott, a leading opponent of the Affordable Care Act, has just announced his support for accepting the federal dollars to extend Medicaid coverage – a decision which according to our study on this issue will lead to approximately one million Floridians getting coverage. This is a very consequential decision – Florida ranks 50 out of 51 states for the number of uninsured adults. Medicaid coverage literally saves lives. More children will be covered too as our study explains – as their parents become eligible for whole family coverage. And of course significant federal dollars are at stake for the state and the state’s hospitals.

So this is an offer that is tough for Florida, or any state, to refuse. And the Governor’s decision is likely to reverberate in other states considering their options – since he has been a leading opponent of the ACA. Now the ball moves to the legislature.

I testified last week before Florida’s Senate Select Committee on PPACA as to the benefits of extending coverage along with my colleague Greg Mellowe at Florida CHAIN.  The Chairman of the Committee, Sen Negron, held an open and fair hearing looking at all sides of the issue. (You can watch the video here.) He has stated that approval of the state’s pending managed care waiver would make him more inclined to say yes to the federal dollars.

Earlier today CMS announced conditional approval of the state’s managed care waiver – with some important consumer protections that will be part of continued negotiations to finalize the agreement. The waiver of course, is not about whether people will get covered but how they will get covered. And it has come a long way from the original waiver that Gov. Bush got approved – most of the extreme elements have already fallen by the wayside. So while there are legitimate concerns about how managed care companies will ensure access to needed services, the waiver has moved in the right direction.

So let’s hope that all of these developments result in Florida getting to yes this legislative session, which starts in March, so that the most vulnerable Floridians have access to Medicaid coverage and no longer have to resort to emergency rooms for costly care when they have been unable to access primary and preventive care.

That would be a victory for common sense and for health reform nationwide.