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Under Republican health care bill, Florida must make up $7.5 billion

 
Florida would need to cover $7.5 billion to keep its health care program under the Republican-proposed Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017.  [Times file photo]
Florida would need to cover $7.5 billion to keep its health care program under the Republican-proposed Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. [Times file photo]
Published July 21, 2017

If a Senate bill called the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 becomes law, Florida's government would need to make up about $7.5 billion to maintain its current health care system. The bill, which is one of the Republican Party's long-promised answers to the Affordable Care Act imposes a cap on funding per enrollee and does away with the funds the federal government has matched for the ACA Medicaid expansion.

Because there was no Medicaid expansion in Florida under the ACA, the biggest change the state would see is the per capita limits. Between 2020, when the BCRA would begin, and 2029, which is about the 10 year mark for the changes, Florida would need to make up $7.5 billion that it would have received in federal funding.

The BCRA is one of two bills in the Senate that would affect the health care system laid out by the ACA. Voting will be early next week.