Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Christine Jordan SextonMay 13, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott has been on a tear lately, shooting off a series of letters to the feds. In the last two days, the governor sent letters to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell regarding Florida’s strained relations with the federal government. Scott sent the VA’s McDonald a letter on Wednesday thanking him […]

Melissa RossMay 13, 2015

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown has sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell “requesting direct discussions” with HHS to prevent closing UF Health in Jacksonville. “Jacksonville and other communities with safety-net hospitals must not be held hostage by the actions or inactions of decision-makers in Tallahassee,” Brown writes. A copy of the […]

Christine Jordan SextonMay 13, 2015

The Department of Health and Human Services needs to be more transparent when it comes to approving sweeping Medicaid 1115 Demonstration waivers, a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office asserts. The 69-page GAO report recommends increased transparency in the management of billions dollars spent on health care. It says the Department of Health and […]

Christine Jordan SextonMay 11, 2015

Rick Scott made an appearance on Fox News Monday night saying why he flip-flopped on Medicaid expansion and said he was going “to do the right things to drive health care costs down.” Scott told Fox’s Greta Van Susteren he went from supporting Medicaid expansion in 2013 when his mother died to opposing it in […]

Christine Jordan SextonMay 8, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott sent a letter to hospitals Friday advising them to begin working with his newly created hospital commission to prepare a trio of ways the industry can share $3.7 billion in profits so other hospitals can withstand the impending loss of federal Low Income Pool funding. Scott has asked the hospitals to send […]

Christine Jordan SextonMay 8, 2015

Interest is mounting in Gov. Rick Scott‘s new healthcare commission. Sen. Eleanor Sobel is the latest to publicly announce her desire to serve on the commission and sent a press release announcing she is requesting Scott place her on the commission. The release notes with Sobel “you get a broad range of knowledge and experience […]

Christine Jordan SextonMay 8, 2015

One day after leaving Washington, D.C., with no promises the federal government will extend Medicaid supplemental funding to the state for another year, Gov. Rick Scott‘s attorneys filed an injunction in his lawsuit against the Obama administration. On the surface, the filing asks the court to issue a preliminary injunction or to support a writ […]

Associated PressMay 7, 2015

The Obama administration rebuffed Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to extend federal funding for hospitals that treat the uninsured, increasing the pressure on states that have refused to expand coverage for low-income people under the president’s health care law. The decision means Florida’s already acrimonious state budget process will likely become tenser. The standoff also […]

Mitch PerryMay 7, 2015

As has been mentioned by reporters for months, Republicans thinking about being president have picked up on the income inequality mantle that Democrats like Elizabeth Warren have championed for years. By that, I mean they use the words “economic inequality.” Beyond that, it’s not clear what they are suggesting to overcome it (Marco Rubio has been […]

Associated PressMay 6, 2015

The Obama administration snubbed Florida’s proposal to extend federal funds for hospitals that treat low-income and uninsured patients, a dispute that has paralyzed the state budget. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell gave Gov. Rick Scott the news when she met with him in Washington on Wednesday. The Republican governor wants the administration to […]

Tag: Sylvia Burwell

Rick Scott puts health care possibilities to HHS chief

Email insights: Alvin Brown requests “direct discussion” with HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell

GAO report calls for more transparency with Medicaid 1115 waivers

Special Session won’t resolve health care impasse, Rick Scott predicts

Rick Scott to hospitals: Come up with profit-sharing ideas by May 22

Interest is mounting in Rick Scott’s healthcare/hospital commission

Rick Scott’s attorneys file injunction to force Medicaid funding beyond June 30

States watching Medicaid standoff between Florida, Obama

Mitch Perry Report for 5.7.15 — On economic issues, is Mike Huckabee more in synch with GOP voters?

No agreement between Florida governor, feds on Medicaid