(Bloomberg Politics) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott's on-again, off-again relationship with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Medicaid expansion program made waves Friday when an Associated Press report that he had "conceded" that his 2013 support for the expansion was a "ruse" went viral.
In 2013 "the Republican governor said [his mother's] death had changed his perspective and he could no longer 'in good conscience' oppose expanding health care coverage to nearly 1 million Floridians," the AP reported, referring to his February speech, following the death of his mother, in support of the expansion.
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"Scott conceded this week that was all a ruse," the story continued. According to the AP, Scott said the move was meant to gain permission from the Obama administration to privatize Medicaid through a waiver, which the state formally received in June 2013. The story didn't quote Scott, or specify when he made the comment other than "this week."
Scott's communications director, Jackie Schutz, pushed back on the AP report in a statement, saying the governor's office believes the AP story was based on an exchange between Scott and a reporter on Thursday:
