Though Governor Rick Scott of Florida has accepted Obama’s Medicaid expansion, not everyone in the state is so supportive. Will Weatherford, the speaker of the Florida state house, told National Review Online last night that the legislature’s support is far from locked up.
Without their approval, the Medicaid expansion could be dead on arrival. The state house has a bipartisan select committee looking at the implications of the Medicaid expansion that will make a formal recommendation.
“Without the legislature passing the exchange and expanding, we don’t expand,” Weatherford tells National Review Online. “It’s completely incumbent on the legislature.”
So despite Scott’s support, the speaker is very skeptical about the future of the expansion. As Jillian noted below, Weatherford also released a statement last night explaining that “the Florida Legislature will make the ultimate decision.” He went on to say that he is “personally skeptical that this inflexible law will improve the quality of health care in our state and insure [sic] our long-term financial stability.”
The speaker is a rising star in Florida Republican circles — I profiled his ascent here over the RNC.