Florida Governor Presses Feds on Medicaid

TALLAHASSEE -- After emerging from a meeting with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Gov. Rick Scott said Monday he asked for the federal government to “expedite” approval of Florida’s controversial proposals to shift most Medicaid beneficiaries into managed-care plans.
But Scott offered few details about their discussion on another major issue — how, or if, the state will carry out key parts of the federal Affordable Care Act.

Florida Governor Drops Rate Cuts

Hopefully this will come to fruition, but just waiting for the next installment.

TALLAHASSEE -- After taking weeks of heat, Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday he’s withdrawing his order cutting payments to caregivers for Floridians with Down Syndrome, spinal bifida, autism and other developmental disabilities.
Scott confirmed what he hinted earlier this week — during a visit to the state’s Agency for Persons with Disabilities. The House and Senate have agreed to find dollars in their budget proposal to cover the $174 million deficit that prompted his 15 percent rate cut, which he said will be lifted by the beginning of next week.

Florida Governor Offers Option to Cuts

Not sure Gov. Scott's request is reasonable, but perhaps some sort of compromise can be reached. Don't think he realizes how devastating his cuts will be to some of Florida's most vulnerable citizens and the people who have dedicated their careers to serving them and their families.


TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday he will cancel massive cuts in the Agency for Persons with Disabilities if legislators come up with a $174-million budget patch.
Since Scott's across-the-board cuts March 31, hundreds of Floridians with disabilities have been searching for new caregivers while companies that serve them are reducing staff and services.
"Hopefully, we'll see if the Legislature will give us some emergency funding. But we have to live within our means," Scott told about 100 APD employees after a tour of their agency.

Scorned Bureaucrat Gets New Job in Florida

I worked in Florida in the early-mid '80s because for a reporter, there was no better place for the unusual story. But things have gotten way out of hand. Seems like Gov. Scott just doesn't get it.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Almost a month ago, Gov. Rick Scott gave an unadvertised $78,000-a-year job to Carl Littlefield, a career bureaucrat who quit his latest job 17 days after he was appointed rather than face questions about his handling of a controversial group home.
The revelation of Littlefield’s new job has become a nuisance for Scott, who has demanded the elimination of 1,849 full-time jobs at the same state agency.
The governor maintains he is only trying to bridge gaping holes such as the estimated $174-million deficit at the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.

Fla. Governor Orders 15 Percent Cuts

Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered deep cuts Thursday to programs that serve tens of thousands of residents with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental disabilities.
Though a range of state services face cuts from this year's Legislature, the governor invoked his emergency powers to order the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities to immediately roll back payments to group homes and social workers by 15 percent — an amount providers say could put them out of business and threaten their clients’ safety.
"lt's not like, 'Gee, does this mean I have to skip a vacation this year?'" said Amy Van Bergen, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida. "Potentially, these cuts have life and death implications for these people."