Thursday, June 16, 2011

Florida Cuts Medicaid Funds to Agency

TAMPA, Fla. -- Florida health administrators are slashing hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars to a troubled Tampa Bay assisted living facility chain in a move that could jeopardize the homes’ ability to keep their doors open.
The action by the Agency for Health Care Administration leaders to stop Medicaid dollars to the homes comes two weeks after a caregiver at one of the facilities was arrested for rape, and one month after The Miami Herald profiled the homes in a series, “Neglected to Death,” which showed the state had allowed scores of problem homes to remain open — sometimes for years — despite a litany of abuses.
In a letter dated June 13, the state agency informed the owners of the Mapleway Communities ALF chain that, beginning in 30 days, they will no longer be able to bill for services under Medicaid, the state and federal insurance program for needy and disabled people. Medicaid pays for a variety of services for people with developmental disabilities at the homes.

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