TALLAHASSEE --- Florida lawmakers have gotten a well-timed budget break thanks to a decision by the federal government to extend the nation’s public-health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar extended the public-health emergency last week.
Azar’s decision means the federal government will continue to allocate a 6.2 percentage-point increase in money for Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care program. Before the extension, the additional funding was slated to expire in March.