Tallahassee, FL–The Florida Senate Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Senator Tom Lee (R-Brandon), today passed Senate Bill 2-A, Health Insurance Affordability Exchange, creating the Florida Health Insurance Affordability Exchange Program (FHIX), which offers premium assistance to help low income working Floridians purchase private health care coverage.
The committee adopted an amendment by Senate Republican Leader Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) to further protect Florida taxpayers through a strict sunset provision that will allow the state to thoroughly evaluate health outcomes and fiscal impacts before deciding whether or not to continue the program past July 1, 2018.
“To address the serious concerns we all share regarding the future reliability of federal funding, we added a strict sunset provision to the already long list of strong conservative guardrails that protect Florida taxpayers and control the state costs and overall growth of Florida’s Medicaid program,” said Leader Galvano.
“By adding a mandatory sunset of the FHIX program on July 1, 2018, Florida will have the opportunity to review and assess outcomes, fiscal impacts and access to care before deciding whether or not we continue the FHIX program,” said Senator President Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando).
For entire press release: .pdf | The Florida Senate