Christine Jordan Sexton
The 2015 session of the Florida Legislature came crashing down Tuesday as both House and Senate Republicans calcified their positions regarding hospital funding and Medicaid expansion.
The impasse prompted Gov. Rick Scott to finally weigh in late in the day, saying he will call lawmakers back into special session if they can’t quickly resolve the ongoing dispute over the $4 billion divide between the two chambers.
Scott also floated the idea of having legislators pass what he called a “continuation” budget. It would freeze current spending levels on health care and education while the state awaits a federal decision on whether it will free up money associated with the Low Income Pool. The program, which helps hospitals provide care for the poor and uninsured, is set to expire this summer.
“If the House and Senate fail to agree on allocations and begin a budget process that can be completed in an extended session, then I will call the House and Senate into a Special Session to pass a budget that continues current year funding levels for critical services like education, law enforcement, children services, and transportation,” Scott said in a prepared statement. “The continuation budget should be silent on any LIP funds as we wait on the federal government’s answer to our request that they continue assisting low income Floridians.”
In his statement, Scott acknowledged for the first time that he might not be able to win support for his tax cut package because of the ongoing stalemate.
Sen. Tom Lee, speaking to reporters, said there’s no such thing as a “continuation” budget but he did say he had suggested to the Scott administration that legislators could pass a new bare-bones budget if they have to wait for an answer from the federal government. A timeline first released by Florida Politics showed that the federal government could wait until July — after the fiscal year — before rendering an answer on whether it would agree to a new hospital funding program suggested by the Florida Senate.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said in a prepared statement that the House “remains willing to have a conversation on the Low Income Pool and is willing to work with the Senate to create a plan for appropriate contingencies should the federal government fail to fund LIP.”
He added, though, that any discussion on hospital dollars should be “separate” from expansion.
The day began with the Florida Senate spelling out what it thinks are the dire consequences if Florida loses the current Low Income Pool funding and nothing is put in its place. The House meanwhile held a Republican caucus meeting where behind closed doors members were urged to stick with the House position and reject any talk of Medicaid expansion.
The Senate has proposed expansion as part of an effort to bridge the gap of funding for hospitals, but House Republicans maintain that the state should not do anything to link itself to Obamacare. A handout given to members also questions whether Medicaid helps health care outcomes, and whether the state can rely on the federal government to continue to fund the program.
