Christine Jordan Sexton
Gov. Rick Scott‘s idea that Florida hospitals share profits to brace for the loss of a $2.2 billion health care financing program is not being warmly received by the the Legislature, which is in charge of allocating Medicaid funding.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said in a statement Monday that there are “other solutions available that do not include a hospital profit share plan,” when asked about Scott’s proposal.
Senate President Andy Gardiner has no comment on the plan at this time, spokesperson Katie Betta said in an email.
Scott sent a letter to hospitals Friday predicting that Florida will need to craft a budget without the $2.2 billion program called Low Income Pool. He asked hospital executives how to best divide their $3.7 billion in profits collected statewide to help those hospitals that may be on shaky financial ground, such as Shands Jacksonville. He asked executives to provide that information to a newly created board that will examine hospital and insurance company finances.
Scott predicts the state will lose the money because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is not going to advise Florida in time to build a budget whether the LIP will be renewed, and if it is, how much.
LIP is mostly money from county and federal sources and is sent to hospitals and federally qualified health centers for treating the poor. The supplemental money offsets the low Medicaid rates hospitals are paid by the state.
Lawmakers did not pass a state budget before adjourning the 2015 Regular Legislative Session two weeks ago. The current budget expires June 30. Scott has said he is developing a base, or continuation budget. He told Fox News on Monday night that he thinks the Legislature should pass a base budget to keep state government funded until lawmakers return to Tallahassee in January 2016 for the next Regular Session.
Scott sent the letter to hospital chief executive officers as well as the Florida Hospital Association, which advocates for Florida hospitals and lobbies the Florida Legislature, as well as in Washington, D.C. Monica Corbett, director of communications for the FHA, said in a prepared statement that group will be “will be issuing a response to Governor Scott this week.”
