FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - The Senate has released its long-awaited bill to dismantle Obamacare and critics warn that proposed cuts to Medicaid could be disastrous for the roughly 3.6 million Floridians relying on the program.
Beginning in 2020, the Senate measure would limit the federal funds states get each year for Medicaid.
The program currently gives states all the money needed to cover eligible recipients and procedures.
Health policy experts say the Senate bill would lock in Florida's low spending Medicaid rates, forcing the state to reduce enrollment, decrease benefits or cut other areas of the budget.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly 4.4 million low-income children, pregnant women, adults, seniors and people with disabilities receive coverage on Medicaid and through the Children's Health Insurance Program, including one in two children and three in five nursing home residents.
