Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida’s GOP legislative leaders remain at odds over how to solve the state’s $2 billion problem with its program to help out hospitals.
As the House and Senate prepare to roll out competing versions of a new state budget there are no clear signs of how the two chambers plan to deal with the potential loss of federal aid that helps fund the low-income pool program.
The House is taking the first steps. On Tuesday a budget committee takes up a bill that proposes completely eliminating the law authorizing the program helps hospitals treat the poor and uninsured.
Rep. Matt Hudson, chairman of the Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee, downplayed the move, but noted that the federal government has already warned the state that it does not plan to extend the current program beyond this summer.
“Why have it on the books if you know it expires?” Hudson said. “We have a program that expires at the end of this (fiscal) year. We are actively negotiating what the new program will look like. Once we know what the new program looks like, we can legislate forward. Until then, I can’t legislate what I don’t have.”
Hudson offered no clues as to what the House spending plans would look like. “You’ll see my budget when it rolls out tomorrow,” Hudson said when pressed for details.
The House’s actions, however, continue to put it on a potential collision course with the Senate, where leaders in that chamber have maintained they will allow large cuts to the state’s hospitals.
On Monday speculation was swirling. One scenario had the House unveiling a budget with an LIP placeholder — and maintaining the program at current funding levels. Another scenario had the House releasing a budget that assumed local tax dollars but not matched by federal dollars.
The Senate unveils its plan Thursday, Sen. Rene Garcia told Florida Politics.
Florida has been here before; building a state budget without knowing whether LIP would be approved and, if so, how much supplemental funding would be available.
The first time LIP hadn’t been finalized, the Legislature worked around the issue by having in one budget a spending plan that included LIP dollars and appropriations without LIP funding.
In 2014 the Legislature was given notification in April that the LIP program had been extended for one year. Although the news was relatively late coming, it was positive because the feds had approved LIP at $2.1 billion, which was higher than previous funding levels.
This year, though, is different. Negotiations between the state and the federal government have been much slower moving.
Gov. Rick Scott included the $2 billion in his budget and downplayed questions in January when asked whether he should have done that.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll continue to be able to work with them,” the governor said at the Associated Press planning session Jan. 28.
Weeks later the governor sent a letter to President Barack Obama saying he wouldn’t backfill the loss of federal Medicaid funding with state revenue.
