Gov. Scott signs order creating health care commission.
Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order Tuesday creating a health care commission that he intends to have look at hospital financing, spending, the role of Medicaid and how it all fits into patient care.
Scott is an opponent of the Senate’s Florida Health Insurance Exchange (FHIX) proposal, a privatized Medicaid expansion designed to extend health coverage to 800,000 low-income Floridians. The Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding crafted by the governor fits into at least some of the talking points aired by critics in the debate over expansion.
In the various “whereas” clauses used as reasons for forming the panel, Scott contends there are rising profitability rates across all forms of hospitals in Florida and that payments to doctors and hospitals account for half the health care spending in the state.
The panel is charged with developing a host of findings.
Among them: Investigate whether health outcomes for patients on Medicaid are “better or worse” than for other patients; and how much do taxpayer-funded hospitals spend on lobbyists and political donations.
The commission’s members are to be appointed solely by Scott, who gained much of his personal wealth as a hospital executive. Commission members also can be replaced at any time by the governor.
But in announcing formation of the commission, Scott didn’t name any members to the panel or set a time frame for its work.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, has already recommended that state lawmakers return June 1-20 to the Capitol to work on a new state budget, which will likely renew debate on FHIX. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, is still mulling the proposed dates from Gardiner.
Florida Democratic Party Chair Allison Tant wasted little time firing back at Scott, accusing him of “grandstanding” by forming the commission. She also reflected on the governor’s private sector resume.
“Now, Rick Scott — who resigned from the health care company he founded amid federal fraud investigations — has decided his time would be well spent auditing the books of Florida hospitals,” Tant said.
“How does that help resolve the gridlock in the legislature? The only hospital management advice Rick Scott knows how to offer is training executives how to fleece the federal government for billions,” she added.
