State Government Amid Tallahassee Health Care Gridlock, House Passes Bill to Keep State Workers' Premiums Low

TALLAHASSEE – As many Floridians brace for possible loss of tax credits and rate hikes for their health care plans under Obamacare, the Florida House passed a bill Friday that would keep premiums low for state workers.

Currently, thousands of state workers in Florida–including Gov. Rick Scott and his cabinet members–pay $8.34 per month for individual coverage and $30 per month for families. If passed by the Senate and signed by Scott, those rates would stay the same.

The bill's passage through the Senate is not a sure deal, however, as this year's relationship between the House and Senate on most anything related to healthcare has been contentious at best.

In April, House members effectively shut down the legislature's annual session by departing from Tallahassee after the two legislative bodies had disputes over healthcare reform, with the Senate wanting to pass Medicaid expansion through a private market version of Obamacare and the House wanting nothing to do with Medicaid expansion in any form.

Now that the legislature has been forced into a special session due to the regular session's abrupt end, it is trying to pass a budget before the required June 20 deadline.

One week into the special session, the House again aborted the Senate's efforts to pass its alternative form of Medicaid expansion, even after Senators made modifications to its proposed bill in an effort to appease House members.