Politico: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said the state will need help covering costs associated with the coronavirus outbreak, expressing confidence that the federal government will help pick up the tab for increased Medicaid outlays.”
“And the state might have to borrow to deliver a $400 weekly benefit to unemployed workers that President Donald Trump mandated in an Aug. 8 executive order, he said. The coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing job losses are expected to boost Florida’s Medicaid enrollment by 570,000 people more than state legislators had estimated, increasing the program’s cost by $1.6 billion this fiscal year. A federal stimulus package that covers the increased enrollment expires in December, after which the state will be left to pick up the cost. In an interview at his office in the state Capitol, DeSantis said he expects federal stimulus funding to be extended through the end of the state’s fiscal year on June 30. ‘We think that they’re going to continue that as long as there’s a state of emergency,’ DeSantis said. ‘If we didn’t have that, then we’d have to do more in [general revenue].'”