January 6, 2012
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -
By now, it's a familiar scene: As Florida lawmakers deal with a
budget shortfall, hospitals, nursing homes and other health
providers scramble to fend off --- or brace for --- funding
cuts.
The 2012 legislative session will be no different.
Already, Gov. Rick Scott has proposed deep cuts in Medicaid
payments to hospitals, as he tries to free up money to boost
spending on public schools. And while it's too early to know
whether lawmakers will go along with Scott's proposal, they are
almost certain to make cuts in health and human-services
programs.
Hospitals, nursing homes and numerous other programs say they
have been hammered by cuts during the past few years. The debate
during the session, which starts Tuesday, will focus on where
further cuts will be made --- and by how much.
"Nursing homes have been hit with a tsunami of funding cuts to
our Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements over the past six
months,'' Emmett Reed, executive director of the Florida Health
Care Association, said this week in a document outlining the
nursing-home group's session priorities. "If we see more cuts this
session, many facilities will have to make difficult decisions
which could restrict further access to care; our state's seniors
deserve better.''
The budget likely will be the biggest health and human-services
issue during the 2012 session. But lawmakers and industry groups
also are preparing for debates about other high-profile issues,
such as revamping the personal-injury protection auto insurance
system and shielding doctors from medical-malpractice lawsuits.
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