Florida will opt out on two PPACA provisions

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Florida will not implement two provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act involving creation of a private insurance exchange and an expansion of Medicaid for the poor, according to Governor Rick Scott.

Two other states with Republican governors, Wisconsin and Louisiana, opted out of the two provisions last month following the Supreme Court decision upholding PPACA.

The landmark law takes full effect in January 2014 and Republican lawmakers hope to repeal it before then. Florida will comply with the law if it remains in effect, Scott said.

In a statement, the governor said PPACA would not aid economic growth in his state “and since Florida is legally allowed to opt out, that’s the right decision for our citizens.”

Scott said premiums would rise on the insurance exchange. He added that expansion of Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, would cost $1.9 billion while the state has other health programs in place.

If states do not create insurance exchanges, the federal government says it will set up them. The exchanges are intended to extend health coverage to an additional 16 million people. The Kaiser Family Foundation says 17 states have made no significant progress toward an exchange or rejected the idea.

(Reporting By Charles Abbott; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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