Florida Considering Reallocating $400M in Medicaid Funding To General Fund Instead of Program’s Budget Deficit

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has proposed shifting $400 million in federal Medicaid surplus funds that the state received last year into Florida's general fund, rather than use the funds to address the program's $113 million budget deficit in this fiscal year, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Bush has proposed cutting Medicaid payments to more than 900 hospitals, nursing homes and group homes for people with developmental disabilities to address this year's deficit and using the surplus funds to help pay for Medicaid in the next fiscal year. Bush spokesperson Jacob DiPietre said, "If we use the dollars to try and plug a recurring hole, that hole will just get bigger next year." State Sen. Durell Peaden (R), chair of Florida's Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, said his committee would likely address the issue on Thursday as part of a larger discussion of midyear budget changes, adding, "These are the most vulnerable people. We'll discuss it" (Ulferts, St. Petersburg Times, 1/7).