Peter Schorsch: In the deadlock over the state budget, follow the money

As the 2015 legislative session winds down – and the state’s budget standoff heats up – money is on everyone’s mind.

With that, the darkening prospects of the House and Senate settling differences over Medicaid expansion lead a casual (and maybe not so casual) observer to ask the obvious question.

Why?

Why is the Senate willing to serve more than 800,000 uninsured, low-income Floridians, while the House steadfastly opposes, with no end in sight?

One possible explanation lies in an old axiom: Follow the money.

For some in the Senate, Florida’s healthcare budget battle is not just business. It’s personal.

Certainly, hospitals have led the charge to expand Medicaid. But there are also four Florida senators, or their spouses, whose livelihoods depend on the healthcare industry. They are key players in the Senate proposal to replace billions in federal Low Income Pool money tied to Medicaid expansion.

The four Senate leaders are Florida Senate President Andy Gardiner, who also serves as vice president of external affairs and community relations for Orlando Health hospitals. Julie Galvano, the wife of Senate Majority Leader and future Senate President Bill Galvano, is director of business development for Blake Medical Center in Bradenton.

Deputy Senate Majority Leader Denise Grimsley also works as administrator for Florida Hospital Wauchula, and Health Appropriations Chair Rene Garcia is vice president of Miami’s Mercy Hospital in Miami.

In the chatter over a looming budget showdown, and all those column inches in the press, it is a big deal when the Senate president, majority leader, deputy majority leader, and the chair of the Healthcare Budget Committee each have a dog in the Medicaid expansion fight.

With nearly every major Florida media organization opining in support of expanding healthcare to uninsured Floridians, few have focused directly on the elected officials who back public policy that would directly benefit their employers.

Connecting the budgetary dots in the Senate doesn’t just stop at healthcare.

President Gardiner has also been a vocal advocate for using public dollars to fund stadiums, a move that would funnel millions of tax dollars to billionaire professional sports team owners.

Gardiner’s employer, Orlando Health, is also a leading sponsor of the new Orlando City soccer team, which is seeking state funding for a planned downtown stadium, currently in limbo during the Mexican standoff in the Legislature.

House budget chief Richard Corcoran told the Orlando Sentinel this week there are more pressing issues than money for sports owners, especially while legislators are deadlocked over healthcare money.

When there is more than public money on the line – like a paycheck – it is a good bet that Florida’s budgetary impasse will rage on longer than need be.

Because this time, it’s personal.

Peter Schorsch is a new media publisher and political consultant based in St. Petersburg, Fla. Column courtesy of Context Florida.