Ryan Ray
With even the staunchest usual allies of business like Associated Industries of Florida and the Florida Chamber of Commerce joining together to support increased funding for Medicaid — a move that did not go uncriticized by the even more zealously free-market group Americans for Prosperity — it comes as little surprise that the more levelheaded Florida Health Care Association‘s 2015 legislative priorities make prominent mention of the federal program as well.
According to FHCA Executive Director Emmett Reed, more than three in five residents of skilled nursing centers depend on Medicaid to cover the cost of their long-term health care needs, with another 20 percent relying on Medicare funding. Medicaid eats up about a sixth of Florida’s state budget annually, a figure expected to grow whether Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP-dominated Legislature expand the program by accepting greater federal funds or not.
FHCA also plans to pursue consumer protection measures to prevent Florida’s numerous elderly from being hit with unexpected medical bills, an all-too-common occurrence within the state’s two-track health care systems — one for long term and one for short term, the twain meeting almost never.
The arrangement creates confusion as to their status as patients, a confusion FHCA would like to clear up this year by way of SB 768 and HB 309, sponsored by Sen. Don Gaetz and Rep. Shawn Harrison, respectively.
“Many of the residents cared for in skilled nursing centers come from the hospital, often needing rehabilitative or restorative care before they are ready to return home,” Reed said in a prepared statement. “This legislation will ensure that they are properly informed about their hospital admission status and help protect them from serious financial burdens.”
