Georgetown University Health Policy Institute researchers estimate that 800,000 to 1.3 million uninsured Floridians would gain health coverage with no net cost to the state if Florida chose to exercise the option to extend Medicaid coverage to residents with incomes at or below 133% FPL as provided under the Affordable Care Act. Moreover, the researchers estimate that the state could save as much as $100 million a year because expanded Medicaid coverage will reduce the financial costs of other state-supported safety net programs and new coverage is financed almost entirely by the federal government. The research by Joan Alker, Jack Hoadley and Wesley Prater was conducted as part of a series of educational briefings on Florida’s Medicaid program that were commissioned and funded by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and the Winter Park Health Foundation. Researchers Alker and Hoadley have studied Florida’s Medicaid program since 2004.

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• press release
• presentation slides
• webcast