Is Rick Scott trying to punish UF Health Jax?

[Flash60]

http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2015-05-15/story/scott-wants-uf-health-jacksonville-explain-its-reliance-lip-dollars

Scott wants UF Health Jacksonville to explain its reliance on LIP dollars

Democrats say governor targets hospital for speaking out about Medicaid expansion


By Tia Mitchell  Fri, May 15, 2015 @ 4:04 pm 

TALLAHASSEE | University of Florida Health Jacksonville has been the most vocal hospital in Florida when it comes to talking about the impact if the Low Income Pool is drastically cut or allowed to expire this year.

On Friday, UF Health Jacksonville received a letter from Gov. Rick Scott questioning why the hospital depends so heavily on the LIP program, which uses local and federal dollars to help pay for services provided to the poor.

Hospital officials say a significant reduction in the $95 million LIP funding it currently received could cause it to shutter in a matter of months.

"UF Health Jacksonville appears to be more reliant on supplemental payments through the LIP program than any other hospital in Florida," Scott wrote to hospital CEO Russell Armistead. "I am requesting the following answer to help the Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding get a better understanding of how UF Health Jacksonville became extraordinarily reliant on federal LIP funds and what can be done to improve the financial viability of UF Health Jacksonville."

The Florida Democratic Party immediately pounced on the letter, saying Scott is targeting the hospital because it pushed for a compromise to save the LIP program and said Medicaid expansion should be part of that discussion.

"It's no surprise that Rick Scott is playing politics with health care and attempting to bully his critics into silence," Florida Democratic Party spokesman Max Steele said via email. "The only thing Floridians see in Rick Scott's increasingly erratic behavior is a petty, rudderless Governor unable to decide which crisis to mismanage next."

Unlike other safety net hospitals, UF Health Jacksonville is not supported by special taxes and its local LIP dollars come directly from the City of Jacksonville, which wrote a $26 million check this year.

Jacksonville City Council members have said for years it cannot afford to increase its financial support for UF Health Jacksonville and voters in the conservative-leaning city are unlikely to approve higher or new taxes to support the hospital.

That leaves UF Health Jacksonville, which has a below-average amount of private-paying customers, reliant on government programs and dollars. The hospital profit margin is razor thin, but its supporters say UF Health Jacksonville is one of the best run-hospitals despite its perilous financial standing.

The hospital and its supporters began sounding the alarm weeks ago about the impact of a loss in LIP dollars.

The federal government has said it is likely to reduce the $1.3 billion it puts into the $2.2 billion program because it believes some of those uninsured Floridians would have coverage if the state expanded Medicaid.

The Florida Senate supports Medicaid expansion, but the Republican-controlled House and Scott oppose it.

Scott sued the federal government and accused it of illegal trying to coerce Florida into expanding Medicaid by tying the issue to its decision making on LIP funding.

Disagreement on Medicaid expansion caused a budget impasse, and the Legislature will return for a special session beginning June 1 to complete the budget. Meanwhile, the federal government has not told Florida what it will do about LIP funding.

Tia Mitchell: (850) 933-1321

[Jimmy]

Bad timing for Lenny Curry.  First Rev. Youngblood and his sign and now Governor Scott and his holy war against providing healthcare to poor people.