Giddy Republicans are about to dismantle the Affordable Healthcare Act, removing a safety net that catches 2.2 million Floridians who may otherwise not have insurance. Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott and our state GOP legislators 
want to turn Medicaid into a capped voucher system that could cut out some people with chronic care needs.
At the same time, there’s talk — and even a Florida House bill — about replacing existing federal matching funds for 4 million Florida Medicaid patients (including 2.3 million children), that are now eligible via federal guidelines, to “block grants” that would allow states to make its own decisions on how to spend those funds — and on whom.
Ouch. That’s gonna hurt some people.
So say the doctors and nurses at Jackson Memorial Hospital, who know first hand what its like to treat a community that uses the emergency room as its primary care center. 
There is never any follow up. Chronic illnesses get worse. People miss work. They self medicate. They begin to depend on other public programs and end up in the ER again — costing taxpayers more in the long run.
Jackson staff will join other health advocates and patients Thursday to highlight what exactly is at stake if the GOP gets its way. That includes the possible reduction of $33 billion in federal funding for healthcare over the next 10 — insufficient funding to provide the current level of services for enrollees, Florida’s Legislature will have to choose between increasing revenue, limiting enrollment, reducing services, or lowering provider reimbursement rates.
This is the point of Thursday’s rally at the Miami stop for the Save My Care Bus Tour, a two-month, cross-country tour that has traveled more than 7,000 miles to at least 30 events in 15 states to tell the stories of the more than 30 million Americans who will lose their health care under a repeal plan.
People like Gloria Bauta, a doula in Miami for 17 years. Bauta, 37, was not able to afford health insurance until the ACA was passed. Since college, she has suffered from chronic pain and gastrointestinal issues. After getting 
Obamacare, she was finally able to see a doctor and was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune diseases. She has been able to get various treatments with her affordable care plan.
Like the “town hall” protests during last week’s Congressional recess, the bus tour wants to shine a light on the potential consequences if Republicans at the state and federal level are able to cut a deal to pay for some aspects of their new plan by effectively gutting Medicaid through block grants and per capita caps.
“Every day it becomes more clear that most people want to keep the Affordable Care Act because they recognize that 
killing it is a huge step backward for everyone’s health,” said Martha Baker, RN, president of SEIU Local 1991, which represents nurses, doctors and other professionals at Jackson Health System, the state’s largest public hospital.
“If a deal is cut to pay for a bad plan to replace the ACA by reducing coverage to seniors, children, people with disabilities, and veterans, then our elected officials are moving in the wrong direction and our most vulnerable citizens will bear the brunt,” Baker said in a statement.
They fear that Medicaid block grants cap coverage, which means limiting eligibility, establishing waiting lists and cutting reimbursements to healthcare providers. Doctors and patients would be facing impossible choices in just a few years, when the impact of the cuts and capped funding are fully felt.
“The destabilization of Florida’s health safety net threatens to overturn significant progress made for millions of Floridians finally able to afford quality healthcare and will ultimately cost the state’s taxpayers more down the road,” said Katy Huddlestun, an attorney with Florida Legal Services.
Fun facts Ladra learned regarding the repeal of ACA and the Medicaid changes proposed:
- Right now, the federal government guarantees 60% of Medicaid costs in Florida (it goes up to 62% in 2019). It is based on income levels so when more peope qualify, or during emergencies (i.e., hurricanes and Zika outbreaks) the funding increases.
- In Florida, the elderly and the blind and disabled make up only 22.5 % of the current eligible patients (7% and 15.5%, respectively) but account for more than 60% of the costs (21.31% and 39.99%, respectively).
- Florida stands to lose over $8 billion in federal dollars annually. Most of those dollars (more than $6.1 billion) go to pay for the premium tax credits and cost sharing reductions that make insurance affordable for low and moderate-income Floridians.
- Over the next ten years, Florida could lose more than $33 billion, a 23% reduction in federal funding.
- The changes (read: cuts) also represent a potential loss of 180,000 or so jobs.
More statistics and stories like Bauta’s will be shared at Thursday’s rally, which begins at 11 a.m. at 1601 NW 8th Ave., just east of Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Where are our local leaders on this? Miami-Dade and Hialeah — which is one of if not the highest Obamacare enrollment area in the nation — should be front and center in ensuring that our residents keep their healthcare.
Obamacare, Medicaid changes scare Jackson doctors, nurses added by Ladra on
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This story is really unbelievable, This is not CUBA, This is not Venezuela, Let’s stop the government from DICTATING what do we need and SOLVE our problems….WE NEED TO GROW UP and solve our own problems…Let’s have an open market on the insurance and you will see how quickly the prices come down.
YES, COMPETITION if you don’t agree including doctors then move out.
this is America let’s have competition not a monopoly.
thank you.
Um, why can’t we have both, Mr. Market? Ladra never understood that.
I am a free market advocate and agree that competition is good for the consumer. But not all consumers are created equal and some people will, undoubtedly, be shut out in an exclusively open market system.
Why can’t we have an open market on insurance and doctors and healthcare so the very rich and the comfortable can afford whatever bells and whistles they want, getting second opinion, a third test, whatever… and also a social, subsidized insurance or healthcare system that allows working families or those with zero income or those who live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford a $260 monthly rate to have just the very basic care and guarantee them at least one test (or two to confirm)? Why does it have to be one way or the other? I don’t understand. What about Obamacare procludes you from getting better private insurance? I know lots of people who have better insurance than others. What is your beef exactly?
Love, Ladra
Another way to look at it besides Badobama care being deplorable, is the amount of illegal immigrants in Florida, at the middle class expense. Free health insurance as soon as they climb over the Mexican border and as soon as they put their toe on land in Florida. It is about time this is revamped. The liberals need to get a grip, they are not doing their party any good or the people who look up to them, they are a bunch of cry baby snowflake and they should direct their worry and anger towards Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, etc, they are being paid to govern and all they are doing is staring as actors and actresses in political theater, everyone is sick of it already. What an embarrassment. Obamacare is not affordable with deductibles that high and to the woman in this thread stating she couldn’t afford health care before but now could, honey that was in it’s first year. Unless of course you are not not paying for health and feeding of government programs at the expense of hard working americans
Obamacare is a disaster; and by design it is doing everything as intended.
A bit to soon and of course the hope was the Hillary would be President to swoop in and enact the next stage. Obama said it himself that obamacare was only but a stepping stone.
So, knowing that… how can anyone be ok with a law that was designed to create hardship for average Americans in order to establish a basis for even more government intrusion? Of course no one knew that
Jeff has a point in both his emotion and the seriousness that we must consider this “law”; to keep some of it is to allow the government to have some of its fingers still pulling our strings.
We must allow the market (US!) dictate our costs and availability, which of course we the people are the engine of that market. The moment we allow the few dictate to us that “we must pass it to know what is in it” is another step backwards from 1776 into subjugation.
I agree that poeple who can purchase market-driven priced insurance should be able to buy as much and from whoever they want.
However, I do think that people who cannot afford those market-driven insurance rates need an option so they can get some healthcare and not die or wither away from curable diseases or treatable conditions they can’t afford to address.
Why can’t we have both? I never understood that. Basic Obamacare for those who want it. Regular insurance for those who don’t.
Love, Ladra
Premiums under the Aptly Orwellian named “Affordable” Care Act rose so much I can’t “afford” it, I must be some sort of “millionaire” because I don’t qualify for subsidy either. Therefore under Obamacare I couldn’t keep my doctor or my insurance.To add insult to injury they want me to pay a fine. 🖕
I’m an NPA because I know the fact is Neither party “cares” for you or I, except to pat themselves on the back by fudging facts and receive accolades from psychofants.
That’s why healthcare or any other issue these folks get involved in will never really get solved . if your a big corporation with an army of lobbyist and millions of dollars available for campaign contributions then things get done for you.
Both sides feed off the very problems they cause.
When you say Florida stands to lose $8 billion annually that would suggest that Miami-Dade, at approximately one-eighth of the population, would lose as much as a billion dollars.
I think that figure is way off – perhaps because our county has a much higher proportion of Medicare recipients and those reimbursements are much higher than Medicaid’s.
Overall, your other statistics are quite well explained. And I agree what we should reform the Affordable Care Act, not abolish and replace.
Mr. Edelman is righ about one thing: insurance companies should be allowed to market interstate.
Xavier
Wasn’t Governor Turkey Neck’s previous business involved in one of the biggest Medicaid frauds of all time? At least the Affordable Care Act tried to help people, not defraud them.
Oh, BTW let’s NOT mention the fact that the JACKSON MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM has been teetering on BANKRUPTCY for YEARS partly because of medical insurance reimbursement rates and HUGE UNION BENEFITS issues. But let’s NOT tell the truth!!!!
How about sharing the stories of people who have over $10,000 deductibles on their policies BEFORE any insurance reimbursement? Or how about the people who live in states where all they have is the “choice” of ONE insurance company? Or the people who can’t afford the INCREASES in their premiums? I guess you people DON’T care about them, do you??? I guess maybe you don’t think those people are important to your political cause. So much for the AFFORDABLE CARE ACT being AFFORDABLE. BUT YET you complain when our President wants to try to HONESTLY improve the medical insurance industry to bring AFFORDABLE care to all. Since when are SOME privileged people entitled and others are not? Simply DISGRACEFUL and DISHONEST.
Jerry, you are so angry and so Repubican you can’t see straight. This story was about local changes here in this state and how it might affect people.
For your information, I do not have any insurance. I have not enrolled in Obamacare, in violation of the law, and in protest because I do not agree with all of it. And I am waiting to be fined so I can challenge it in court as unconstitutional. I will not be forced by my government to buy anything.
HOWEVER (using all caps because you do), I can appreciate that it exists for those who want/need it. I do believe that more people have healthcare now that didn’t have it before. I do believe that the Affordable Heathcare Act has saved lives. I do believe that the ability of low income and no income people to get life insurance if they want to should remain.
Does it need to be tweaked and fixed so that small businesses are not overly strained and people have more choices? Yes. Of course. But having no choice, which is what would happen to millions of people with an outright appeal, is not giving them more choices.
I DO NOT BELIEVE that Medicaid vouchers or block grants are the cure… or even a good trade off. There are too many cases where capped limits would be reached and people would be left without the care they need.
Be honest with me and yourself. You only hate Obamacare because a Democrat came up with it. Let’s fix it. But let’s not throw out the baby with the bath water.
Love, Ladra