The state legislature adjourned for the year without expanding Medicaid to provide health insurance for about 800 thousand low-income Floridians. But the debate is far from over.
Federal money for the Low Income Pool, assigned to hospitals that care for the poor, will decline by another $400 million next year, and state lawmakers again will be under pressure to help hospitals offset their losses. It will also be the final year the federal government will pay 100 percent of costs for any Medicaid expansion plan the state approves.
We discuss the issue with state Sentator Aaron Bean and Representative Mia Jones.
Dawn Gilman with the Emergency Services & Homeless Coalition of Northeast Florida join us with news about the organization's efforts to end veteran homelessness on the First Coast by 2016.
And we speak with celebrated Special Olympics athlete and ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage recipient Loretta Claiborne. She will be the featured speaker at this week's Fierce Talks Women's Wednesdays event.
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