The group trying to get Medicaid expansion in Florida approved through a state constitutional amendment is pushing its target date back to 2028 instead of next year.
Florida Decides Healthcare said in a release Thursday. its efforts were uprooted by a new state law passed this year that introduced stricter regulations and penalties for those involved in petition drives. The group currently is suing the state over that law.
Organizers said while they’re pushing back their plan, they will still try to get the proposal on the ballot during the next presidential election.
More than a million Floridians are in a healthcare coverage gap. They earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, the government funded health insurance for low income people, but they cannot afford private health insurance.
Florida is one of ten states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, leaving billions in federal healthcare funding on the table.
Federally, Medicaid is set to be cut by almost a trillion dollars over the next ten years after legislation passed earlier this year.