Fla. House speaker criticizes Medicaid expansion

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford says expanding Medicaid coverage is a social experiment doomed to fail.

Weatherford opened the annual session of the Florida Legislature with a speech that criticized extending health insurance coverage to roughly 1 million Floridians.

Weatherford’s stance puts him at odds with Gov. Rick Scott who supports expanding the program for three years.

Weatherford during his speech also pledged to toughen the state’s ethics laws and make changes to prevent a repeat of last fall’s elections where some voters spent hours waiting in line.

He also vowed to pass a law that would grant in-state tuition rates to the children of immigrants who are in the country illegally. A federal court last fall ruled that charging higher tuition to those students violated their equal protection rights.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.