Rick Scott tells hospital panel to focus on health care costs borne by taxpayers

Gov. Rick Scott was in Tallahassee on Wednesday but he made no appearance at the inaugural meeting of the Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding.

The governor made a brief telephone call thanking the nine commission members for agreeing to serve on the panel. He then told them that their focus was examining the role of taxpayer funding in health care whether it be for hospitals, insurance companies or other providers.

“We’ve got to get a return on those dollars because they are somebody’s hard-earned dollars,” Scott told the commission members in his brief phone call. Scott’s remarks were less than two minutes.

Scott created the commission via executive order and announced the members last week. Save for one doctor none of the commission members have health care experience.