Dispute over proposed cuts in Medicaid payments (Florida, Jeb)

[Judi Lynn]

Thursday, January 8

Dispute over proposed cuts in Medicaid payments

The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --
Some lawmakers and top state officials disagree over whether federal money aimed at helping out while the economy was down should go to plug immediate holes in the Medicaid health care program for the poor and elderly.

Congress sent Florida more than $400 million last year, and many lawmakers were under the impression it would be used to help fill a $113 million deficit in the Medicaid budget.

But Gov. Jeb Bush wants to shift the money to an all-purpose account that can be spent on a wide array of needs. And to deal with the shortfall in Medicaid, the administration is seeking to cut payments to hospitals, nursing homes and homes for the developmentally disabled.

That has some lawmakers angry.

"It's morally wrong," Senate Democratic Leader Ron Klein, of Boca Raton told the St. Petersburg Times for a story Wednesday.
(snip/...)

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040107/APN/401071048

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. All-purpose account? Isn't that a General Fund?

I thought General Funds were illegal because they are easily abused by corrupt people. And what is Jeb Bush if not corrupt?

[Soul On Ice]

2. Yes. Yes.

Right. Nothing if not corrupt.

Good talking to you :hi: :toast:

[soup]

3. It's called 'creative financing' in Florida.

jeb corrupt?! how could you even think that? (ha.) As much as I'm concerned for the state of Florida, there's so many things going on here that everyone (nationwide) needs to be aware of if this man's political ambitions expand to the national level.

Did some looking around, and as far as I can tell, the General Revenue Fund still exists in Florida.

Here's another article on the rerouting of the Medicaid funds. It goes a little further into it than the Miami Herald (thank you JudiLynn for bringing this to our attention):
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/01/07/State/Florida_reroutes_Medi.shtml

a few snips, including more of Senator Klein's remarks:

>Klein noted that the state just spent $369-million to lure the Scripps Research Institute to Florida. He said he was comfortable with the Scripps expense as long as the $400-million went to Medicaid.<

makes me wonder if deals were made and are now being broken?

>Indeed, lawmakers say next year's budget is a nightmare in the making, one that involves increasing expenses as tax cuts will continue to dry up revenue.<

way to go, jeb. I've been trying to find an old (early 2000? 2001?) article written by a former Senator(R) about jeb's initial billions in tax cuts hurting Florida's future. It was really well thought out and written, but it seems to be buried too deeply in my files to find it. The points he made at the time seem to be coming to fruition.

this from a director of marketing and planning at a nursing home in St Petersburg:

>What's especially galling, she said, is that legislators also ordered nursing homes to add nursing assistants by spring.

"It's the contradiction in, "We want you to provide quality, but we're going to keep cutting the money for you to provide quality care,' " Reese said.<

and one more - if I can get away with it, given the fair use rules:

>Tony Marshall of the Florida Health Care Association said jobs will have to be cut even though the homes can't legally dip below minimum nursing levels. "You either have to pay for less benefits or you have to remove a housekeeper or an activities person or a nutritional person," Marshall said.<



Children on waiting lists for insurance need to stay healthy. Seniors in nursing homes need to learn to make their own beds and love rice and macaroni. Perhaps patients in rehab hospitals or developmentally delayed group homes could supply their own physical therapy equipment and buy an exercise video tape. I'm sure even the newly mandated nursing assistants would lower their salary expectations to make this work. We all just need to pull together here.

Bah...