Christine Jordan Sexton
House and Senate health care budget conferees are agreeing to bump unresolved spending and policy decisions to the chief budget negotiators to resolve. Included on the bump list was funding for most special projects, as well as funding for a statewide graduate medical education program.
The chambers also were unable to reach agreement on pediatric funding for hospitals and physicians, so those issues were bumped to House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Leek and Senate Appropriations Chair Doug Broxson to try to resolve.
The House has pushed to increase by $76 million the reimbursement rates pediatricians receive to treat poor children enrolled in the Medicaid and Florida KidCare programs. The fee increases are an integral part of House Speaker Paul Renner’s efforts to expand the Florida KidCare program to children living in families that earn 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
The Senate included in its proposed budget $76 million to increase Medicaid reimbursements Florida hospitals receive to care for some of the sickest pediatric patients in the state.
Sen. Gayle Harrell and Rep. Sam Garrison, the lead health care budget negotiators, could not reach an accord on a conforming bill (HB 5303) the House has advanced.
Unlike budgets and proviso and implementing bills (all of which remain in effect for one year), conforming bills make substantive changes to statutes and are permanent. The House conforming bill makes changes that would allow Mayo Clinic Jacksonville Cancer Center to participate in the cancer research program.
Budget conference subcommittees are meeting throughout the week to resolve differences in each area. When remaining issues reach an impasse, they will be “bumped” to the full budget conference committee.
Lawmakers must reach an agreement on a final spending plan by May 2 to meet the 72-hour “cooling off” period required by the state constitution before they can vote on the budget to avoid pushing the Regular Session past its scheduled May 5 end date.
One comment
Michael K
April 28, 2023 at 7:53 am
Guess what? All but the nine most impoverished, backward states in the US have expanded Medicaid to help poor people – especially children. Why does Florida refuse to do the right thing?
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