Leading Patient Advocacy Organizations Join Effort to Bring Medicaid Expansion to the  2028 Ballot in Florida

Tallahassee, Florida — The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and the American Heart Association (AHA) are joining forces to support a proposed ballot initiative allowing voters to decide whether Florida should expand Medicaid.  Florida Decides Healthcare, the coalition leading the signature collection efforts, is determined to collect the million signatures needed to add a question on the 2028 ballot asking voters whether the state should expand Medicaid. This expansion would provide health coverage access for more than 1.4 million Floridians who currently lack affordable options. Florida remains one of just 10 states that have not expanded access to health insurance through Medicaid.

Once the anticipated impacts of H.R. 1 passed by Congress last summer, which include significant federal cuts to the Medicaid program, are realized, and without Congressional action to extend the enhanced health care tax credits that made health insurance on the Marketplace more affordable, the need for Florida to act is only exacerbated. The state legislature has shown little to no appetite to date for expansion, which has compelled key public health organizations to get behind the grassroots initiative and are encouraging Floridians to sign the ballot measure petitions being circulated by Florida Decides Healthcare.

 "Access to comprehensive and affordable health care makes it easier to work, find a new job and succeed in today’s economy. In addition, evidence shows that having health insurance is a determining factor for surviving cancer" said Susan Harbin, ACS CAN Florida senior government relations director. "Sadly, families without health insurance are often forced to avoid necessary preventive care and timely cancer early detection screenings that we know can save lives and taxpayer dollars."

“Too many Floridians with heart disease delay care or skip medications because they simply can’t afford them,” said Tiffany McCaskill Henderson, American Heart Association Florida government relations director. “Expanding Medicaid would help close that gap, ensuring people can get the care they need before their condition becomes life-threatening, and to support recovery following a heart attack or stroke. From both a medical and public health perspective, expanding Medicaid is a proven, cost-effective way to strengthen our healthcare system and improve heart health across the state.”

The health coverage provided by Medicaid reduces the burden of chronic, life-threatening illnesses like cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes through access to prevention services, screening and early detection, as well as affordable treatment and care.

Florida’s 2028 Medicaid expansion initiative would close the state’s coverage gap and extend affordable, quality health care to single adults earning up to $22,024.80 and $45,540.00 for a family of four.

Expansion will benefit uninsured adults with low incomes and rural communities which rely more heavily on Medicaid by reducing rural hospital closures by 62%, according to the Florida Policy Institute (10/24) and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The efforts of Florida Decides Healthcare and its membership, which now includes ACS CAN and the AHA, come as voters in Idaho, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Utah have all passed Medicaid expansion in recent years through similar ballot measures.

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