TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida agency is now saying that the federal health care overhaul may cost state taxpayers $3 billion over the next decade.
The Agency for Health Care Administration late Wednesday released new estimates for the federal health care overhaul. The new figure is dramatically less than one released last month by the agency.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott told federal officials this week that the overhaul could cost state taxpayers as much as $26 billion.
But Scott relied on an estimate prepared by his health care agency that assumes the federal government will change the law and cut money now pledged to the states.
Legislative budget analysts asked for an estimate that reflected current law. Internal emails showed that analysts made their concerns known to Scott's budget staff.
