Mitch Perry
Gov. Rick Scott‘s call for Florida hospitals to share their profits if the federal government refuses to authorize $2.2 billion in health-care spending has been greeted as a form of socialism by critics, including some from his own party.
“That’s government price controls,” Niceville-based GOP state Sen. Don Gaetz said in a recent radio interview. “That really brought the Soviet Union into a ‘Going Out of Business’ sale.’”
This month, Scott proposed to the Florida Hospital Association that if the U.S. Health and Human Services Department rejects the state’s application to extend the Low Income Pool, or LIP, program, that some of the state’s larger hospitals should share their proceeds with other, less profitable health care facilities. He said he wanted the hospitals to submit three models by Friday, so that his Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding could consider them on May 26.
Appearing in Tampa on Monday afternoon, Scott was asked by Florida Politics about Gaetz’ comments.
“I put together a commission to make sure the right thing happens in health care,” Scott said. “What do we all care about in health care? We want to be able to afford it, we want people to get great care, and be treated with respect, and we’re spending your dollars, so I want to make sure that your dollars are spent well. Our hospitals had record profits, so it’s one of the many things that are going to be looked up by this commission. I think they have their first meeting on Wednesday of this week.”
Earlier Monday the Florida Hospital Association responded to the governor by saying hospitals don’t think the way to plug the loss of the federal Low Income Pool program is through a tax on their revenue.
“You have suggested that a new tax on hospital operation surpluses might be a way to sustain the existing LIP program,” the draft FHA letter to the governor reads in a story reported by Florida Politics’ Christine Jordan Sexton. “Such an arrangement is not a solution to the challenge we face. It is clear the the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will not sustain the LIP program under current terms and conditions.”
The governor spoke to reporters after conducting a press conference at Inspirata, a cancer diagnostics company that intends to establish its global headquarters in Tampa, adding 70 new jobs to the area.
When asked about the upcoming budget showdown in the session, Scott repeatedly said he was “cautiously optimistic” that the House and Senate will pass a budget when they meet in Special Session in June. If they don’t come up with a solution by June 30, the state government would shut down.
“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that we don’t have a state that shuts down our state government,” Scott said. He pointed out that he’s asked all state agencies to review their staffing levels in terms of essentials to prepare for the possibility of a shutdown.
The governor remained sunny when discussing the budget situation, emphasizing as usual that jobs are being created in Florida, in this case stating that more than 841,000 of them have been added since he was elected in 2010.
“I’m hopeful that this session will be successful so that we can focus on how we can get more jobs,” he said more than once. He also said he will continue to search to find a way to cut taxes, fund education, and fund cancer research, the subject of the hour.
Scott’s behavior as the budget crisis has evolved in recent weeks has raised hackles not only with Democrats, but editorial writers across the state. He’s been taken to task for calling for a “continuation budget,” a process used in Louisiana, where several key staff members such as Melissa Sellers were aides to Gov. Bobby Jindal. When asked about using that phrase, he replied, “”I think it’s important to get the full budget passed.”
