Florida Decides Healthcare was organized as a political committee years ago but started work in earnest last year. The committee has touted multiple polls gauging Floridians’ interest in Medicaid expansion, with an April 2023 measure showing 76% support and one from last month showing 79% would vote ‘yes.’
Florida is one of only a handful of states that have declined to expand Medicaid under the federal law known as Obamacare. If Florida Decides Healthcare’s effort is successful, Floridians who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level could enroll in Medicaid. According to the committee, there are about 1.4 million Floridians who would become eligible for health insurance but don’t currently have it.
It’ll be a little bit before Florida Decides Healthcare knows exactly how many signatures they’ll need to make the ballot — the threshold is pegged to 8% of voter turnout in the most recent presidential election — but it will likely be slightly higher than the current requirement of about 891,000 petitions.
