House Speaker Will Weatherford said Thursday that Governor Rick Scott has not “reached out” to him about expanding Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act.
Scott drew national headlines in February, when he announced support for the expansion. But Weatherford and other House Republican leaders have largely vetoed the idea.
“I mean, I can only speak for myself,” Weatherford said. “They (the governor’s office) have not reached out directly to me about it. I don’t know if they’ve called other members of our chamber. Maybe they have.”
House Minority Leader Perry Thurston said Democrats will continue pushing for the Medicaid expansion, which would provide health coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income Floridians. When told about Scott not talking with Weatherford, Thurston said, “Well, then, the governor probably does need to work harder from his bully pulpit to make sure that it happens if he thinks it’s important. I can tell you this: We think it’s important.”
Material from the News Service of Florida was used in this post.
