On heels of cannabis, abortion-rights initiatives, a group wants to expand Medicaid in 2026

The Florida Supreme Court has until April 1 to decide whether amendment initiatives allowing the use of recreational cannabis and enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution will make it on the ballot this November. But there’s already another ballot initiative in the works that Floridians could vote on in 2026.

Florida Decides Healthcare is the group seeking voters’ approval to expand Medicaid, the federally and state-funded insurance for low-income people. If the initiative is successful, the state would have to provide healthcare coverage to adults under 65 whose incomes are at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

Florida is one of 10 states that have not expanded the program. And the Florida Legislature this session did not pursue Medicaid expansion.

Jake Flaherty, Florida Decides Healthcare’s campaign director, said the group has taken lessons from the successes of the cannabis and abortion ballot initiatives in getting voters’ signatures. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the group halting the campaign to put Medicaid expansion on the ballot in 2020.

“There was a little bit of a dry period there for ballot initiatives and with both recreational marijuana and the abortion initiative we saw that it can really be done still with all the changes that have been put in place,” he said in a phone interview with Florida Phoenix. “That’s very helpful for us in talking to folks about getting behind this initiative as well.”

All initiatives in the state need 891,523 signatures in at least one-half of Florida’s congressional districts to make it to the ballot, according to the Florida Division of Elections. If the Supreme Court approves the language of the ballot summary, 60 percent of voters must also approve.

But Flaherty doesn’t think the justices potentially blocking either of the ballot initiatives this year would change the group’s campaign. The Florida Supreme Court decision must be based on whether the ballot language would mislead voters or deal with more than one topic.

“It’s such a case-by-case situation that it’d be hard to compare even the abortion initiative to the marijuana initiative let alone Medicaid expansion,” he said.

State lawmakers have opposed Medicaid expansion

More than 1.4 million people in the state would get healthcare if Florida expanded Medicaid, according to the group. So far, the state Legislature has been unwilling to do so.

Gov. DeSantis signed on Thursday a package of bills dubbed the “Live Healthy” initiative, which would pour $1.5 billion to bolster healthcare programs over the next decade. Although there were talks from Democratic lawmakers looking to expand Medicaid at the beginning of this year’s legislative session, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo shut the idea down. She spearheaded the “Live Healthy” initiative.

“We need more primary-care providers who play a vital role as the main point of contact in the health care system for families and seniors,” Passidomo said during Thursday’s bill signing ceremony. “Access to health care is important at every phase of life. Insurance including Medicaid and Medicare does not guarantee access. Even Floridians with great insurance face barriers to care. Through ‘Live Healthy’ Florida will grow the health care workforce we need to serve our communities.”

Flaherty said that while “Live Healthy” could improve the quality of care Floridians get, it wouldn’t provide access for people who can’t afford it.

“If we’re being honest with ourselves, there is no silver bullet to making health care what it needs to be in Florida. What they did with ‘Live Healthy’ this past session, I think it’s going to help with a lot of different things, but what it doesn’t do is provide the ability for people to actually seek care,” Flaherty said.

“It might lead to more providers and put our providers in a better situation to be able to give care to people who need it, but the one thing that we really still need is a way for people who can’t afford care to access it.”