Analysis: Stimulus ends, state healthcare on life support

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/30/us-usa-states-medicaid-idUSTRE75T3CE20110630

(Reuters) - As healthcare costs for the poor soar across the United States, perhaps no state will feel the loss of federal stimulus money more than Florida.

America's fourth-most-populous state, Florida is second only to Texas in the percentage of residents without health insurance and its struggles are emblematic of problems afflicting many states.

Florida's economy has been hit hard in recent years and was one of the states hurt the most by the housing bust. For 25 straight months, the state's unemployment rate has been above 10 percent, creating an ever larger pool of people turning to Medicaid.

But now the $100 billion of stimulus money that boosted funding for the Medicaid health insurance program nationwide will run out at the end of June.

The Medicaid boost was one of several tax and spending measures in the $830 billion stimulus package passed in 2009 that helped state and local governments make it through the recent recession. The federal program partially reimburses states for healthcare provided for the poor and others who cannot pay their bills.