"Florida sued. But it sued poorly." These are the words of an Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Joint Editorial.
Florida's lawsuit aimed to stop guidelines issued for KidCare, a health insurance program for children in need. The guidelines were issued by the Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") and this was the guidance: If the parents miss a premium payment or payments, the insured child must remain insured until eligibility can be re-determined.
Florida opposed that. The Attorney General of Florida filed the lawsuit without talking to CMS first; she did not exhaust Florida's administrative remedies before she filed the lawsuit, which is lawyering 101.
She also filed Florida's lawsuit before Florida paid even one cent. The complaint she filed speculated that Florida could lose as much as $48.5 Million. Not suing until you have an injury is lawyering 102.
As the newspapers pointed out, this "works out to 3.3% of this year's $14.6 Billion budget surplus, in a $117 Billion budget." Further, the joint editorial points out that Florida has set aside $450 Million in the current budget for E-Pass relief for drivers who would otherwise pay that money in tolls, an amount which is "nearly 10 times as much" as what the Attorney General speculated Florida would pay under the new KidCare rule. The Joint Editorial is aptly titled, Why is Florida Hell-Bent on Stripping Children of Health Insurance?
That's taking the Attorney General's "Florida Dreaming" at face value. Let's go back to looking at her lawsuit. It was premature and Florida had no standing to bring that lawsuit. That is why a federal judge dismissed it the first chance he got.
U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida where Florida's lawsuit was dismissed.
The Attorney General wants to be the next Governor of Florida. Her name is Ashley Moody. This is her official portrait from the Department of Legal Affairs (Florida Attorney General) website:
Remember her. She will take Florida places it never intended to go.
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