Administration Asks Judge To Deny Florida’s Request For Mediation On Hospital Funding
State officials allege that the federal government is trying to force Florida to expand its Medicaid program by cutting funds for hospitals that serve large numbers of uninsured patients. Federal officials say they are continuing to meet with Gov. Rick Scott's administration on the issue. Also in the news, Kansas officials appear to be moving away from discussing expansion there, and Arkansas changes its procedures.
News Service of Florida/Orlando Sentinel:
Feds Ask Judge To Reject Mediation With Gov. Scott In Health-Care Lawsuit
A day after Gov. Rick Scott sought mediation in a lawsuit about health-care funding, attorneys for the federal government asked a judge Tuesday to reject the request. Scott filed the lawsuit this spring arguing that the Obama administration was trying to link continuation of Florida's Low Income Pool health-funding program with expansion of Medicaid. Federal officials later said they would approve a two-year continuation of the so-called LIP program at lower funding levels than during the current year. (6/9)
Miami Herald:
Feds Push Back, Ask Judge To Deny Scott's Request For LIP Mediation
Florida's Medicaid director met in person with federal healthcare regulators on Monday to continue negotiations over the extension and redesign of a $1 billion government program that pays hospitals for treating uninsured and under-insured patients, according to a legal brief filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Pensacola. Those ongoing meetings are just one of the reasons cited by a deputy assistant U.S. attorney in a filing urging a federal judge to deny Florida Gov. Rick Scott's motion to compel a mediation of state-federal negotiations over a program known as the Low Income Pool or LIP. LIP is scheduled to end on June 30, coinciding with the close of Florida's fiscal year. Without agreement to renew the program, Florida legislators cannot craft a budget that ensures state hospitals receive funds to provide medical care for needy residents, according to the state's motion to compel mediation, which was filed on Monday -- the same day Justin Senior, Florida's Medicaid director, met with federal regulators. (Chang, 6/9)
Orlando Sentinel:
Lawmakers Seek To Ease Tensions In Testy Budget Talks
A day after a Senate leader snubbed a House economic development budget proposal, lawmakers in both chambers looked to calm tensions in Florida's most protracted budget process in more than two decades.
Locked in a special session because of a disagreement over health care spending, legislators in charge of the health care portion of the budget were all smiles Tuesday, even as they came to an impasse on the most contentious part of the talks. (Rohrer, 6/9)
The Tampa Tribune:
Budget Negotiators Agree To Disagree On Charity Care Funding
A new way of funding the state’s charity care will be “bumped” up from subcommittee negotiators to the Legislature’s budget chairs, House Speaker pro tem Matt Hudson said Tuesday night. The Low Income Pool (LIP), now being litigated in federal court, is the $2.2 billion pot of federal-state money used to reimburse Florida hospitals for unpaid care, often to uninsured patients who show up in emergency rooms. Legislators will have to use more general revenue to fill that fund as the federal government drastically cuts its contribution. (Rosica, 6/9)
The Tampa Tribune:
Harrison Voted His Conscience, Not Party, On Health Insurance
State Rep. Shawn Harrison of New Tampa is reliably Republican, standing for traditional conservative ideals. He wants to keep government out of our lives as much as possible. He believes in lower taxes, job creation and state funding for some faith-based initiatives. On those points, he isn’t any different than the other four GOP state representatives from Hillsborough County. He did stray from the pack on one important point, though. He was one of four House Republicans statewide — and the only one from Hillsborough — to vote in favor of the Senate plan to expand health care coverage for the state’s neediest people. (Henderson, 6/10)
The Kansas Health Institute News Service:
Medicaid Expansion Said To Be Off Table In Tax And Budget Negotiations
Legislators locked in increasingly tense discussions about how to balance the budget and end the longest legislative session in Kansas history say there is no longer any serious talk about expanding Medicaid eligibility this year. Currently, non-disabled adults without children aren’t eligible for the state’s Medicaid program, called KanCare, no matter how poor they are. (McLean, 6/9)
Modern Healthcare:
Arkansas Cancels Cost-Sharing For Poorest In Medicaid Expansion
Arkansas will not, for the time being, impose cost-sharing for Medicaid expansion beneficiaries below the federal poverty level. The state won a federal waiver in 2013 to use new funding available under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that helps residents earning up to 138% of the poverty level buy private plans on the new insurance exchange rather than enroll in traditional Medicaid coverage. (Dickson, 6/9)
