Florida Governor Rick Scott’s proposal to cut Medicaid is drawing opposition and resurrecting Scott’s own troubles with Medicaid during his tenure as a health care executive.
Scott is proposing to cut Medicaid costs by $2 billion by paying hospitals less money for their treatment of patients who are on Medicaid. These cuts, says Scott, will be used to boost public school spending by $1 billion. Medicaid is a joint federal and state funded medical insurance program that is administered at the state level and covers low-income adults and children, primarily through the Supplemental Security Income and Supplemental Security Disability Income program
Two million Florida residents presently receive Medicaid.
Governor Scott’s controversial proposal is drawing fire from numerous quarters, including the hospital industry, and is a catalyst for reminding Floridians of Scott’s former occupation as chief executive officer of a non-profit hospital that paid a record $1.7 billion in fines for Medicare fraud.
Children biggest losers
The biggest losers would be hospitals in urban areas or ones that specialize in treating children, such as Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, according to an analysis by a hospital lobbying group. (Miami Herald, Dec. 8)
Jackson Memorial, the hospital with the largest Medicaid population in Florida, would lose $133.5 million, according to the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, a lobbying group for 15 of the state’s largest hospitals. All Children’s would lose $39 million, and Tampa General would lose $32.5 million. Miami Children’s Hospital would lose $34 million.
Scott, whose campaign for governor received vocal support from various Tea Party coalitions, is no stranger to cuts in necessary services. At one point early in his tenure, he proposed to slash state monies used to provide supportive services at group homes for individuals with developmental disabilities. That proposal also engendered widespread opposition.
Florida has no state income tax, but does have a high sales tax on most items, a form of regressive taxation that disproportionately impacts lower income people. The state has benefited substantially from federal stimulus programs, but home foreclosures remain high—a process that began several years ago partly as result of skyrocketing homeowner insurance premiums in the wake of a series of four hurricanes that hit various parts of the state.
Scott's proposal to slash Medicaid highlights the need for a socialized health care system,where people's needs are put first and health care is seen as a right not a privilege.
