Republicans, including Rick Scott, assail Gov. DeSantis’ AHCA for $160M loss

This photo illustration of Ben Franklin wearing a health care mask and bonnet on a one hundred dollar bill might illustrate the high cost of health care, the high cost of health care legislation with the recently passed U.S. Health care bill or the high cost of health litigation, malpractice and insurance.

Republican politicians are attacking Gov. Ron DeSantis after revelations that his administration may have lost $160 million in Medicaid funding.

Critics include U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, DeSantis’ predecessor in the Governor’s mansion.

State Rep. Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican chairing the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee, said DeSantis’ administration disclosed to the Legislature that the funding through the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and a federal fine needed to be accounted for in the state budget.

“We gave AHCA $160 million to pay a federal fine/disallowance,” Andrade said.

“Instead of using the money to pay the fine, AHCA put the money in the wrong bank account essentially, and used it for cash flow for the past two years. Because they only reconciled their accounts once a year, they didn’t catch the issue until it was too late. It reeks of incompetence, like DeSantis has been asleep at the wheel on the day-to-day administration of the Medicaid program.”

The issues appear to have occurred while Jason Weida served as AHCA Secretary. In February, DeSantis named Weida as his Chief of Staff.

Criticisms of DeSantis’ handling of Medicaid money didn’t just come from the Florida House, which has had friction with the Governor for months.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, a Naples Republican who served as Governor before DeSantis, also said Florida taxpayers deserve answers.

“I don’t understand how the state could lose $160 million in federal funding, but it’s concerning,” Scott said in a statement to Florida Politics.

“We have to know where the dollars went and there must be accountability and transparency on how it was spent. Taxpayers cannot be on the hook and the state should find a way to pay it back to the federal government. The last thing the state should be doing is asking for even more of Floridians’ tax dollars to pay back the federal government.”