Rick Scott to hospitals: Come up with profit-sharing ideas by May 22

2017 Florida Legislature opens at the Capitol

Gov. Rick Scott sent a letter to hospitals Friday advising them to begin working with his newly created hospital commission to prepare a trio of ways the industry can share $3.7 billion in profits so other hospitals can withstand the impending loss of federal Low Income Pool funding.

Scott has asked the hospitals to send the scenarios to the state by May 22 for consideration at a May 26  meeting of his newly established healthcare/hospital commission.

The letter comes after the governor’s fruitless meeting with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, where he attempted to persuade the federal government to continue the Low Income Pool finding.

 Scott said he now believes it’s “more important than ever to build a LIP-free budget.” That would mean the loss of $2.2 billion in federal funding to Florida hospitals and other providers.

“Your assistance in suggesting fair profit sharing to replace federal LIP funds at those institutions that rely on them most, like Shands Jacksonville, will be critical to keeping them up and running,” Scott wrote in his letter. “This would be similar to how large market baseball teams share revenues with small market baseball teams. With the hospital industry’s record-high profits, it does not make sense for the hospital industry to ask state taxpayers to backfill funding the Obama Administration has elected to terminate.”

Russell Armistead UF Health Jacksonville_Page_1 Russell Armistead UF Health Jacksonville_Page_2

Christine Jordan Sexton

Tallahassee-based health care reporter who focuses on health care policy and the politics behind it. Medicaid, health insurance, workers’ compensation, and business and professional regulation are just a few of the things that keep me busy.



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories