Huffington Magazine Issue 88 | Page 54

HUFFINGTON 02.16.14 JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES TOO POOR FOR OBAMACARE program, citing budgetary concerns and resistance to Obamacare itself. The federal government will pay the full cost of the Medicaid expansion through 2016, after which its share will be no less than 90 percent. These decisions by governors and legislators essentially consigned a huge swath of the very poor to a life of extreme insecurity. “It’s very frustrating,” said Al- phonse, who last worked as a security guard until being laid off 10 months ago. “It’s kind of odd where an individual that has an opportunity to help millions of people in their own state, and they just totally refuse to do it.” Florida’s legislature is poised to take up the Medicaid expansion again during this year’s session, but the political dynamics don’t appear to have changed much since last year. Meanwhile, one-quarter of Florida’s population (under the age of 65) is without health insur- Dr. Martha Perez examines a patient in a room at Community Health of South Florida in Miami. Even copayments at community health centers, which charge low-income patients on a sliding scale, are unaffordable for some.