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All Children's Hospital, SRI International, and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg recently brought together legislative, community, hospital, and business leaders to discuss issues critical to the region, including children's health care.
The forum was an opportunity for ACH, SRI, USF and community leaders to discuss important issues with legislative leaders, and for these elected officials to ask questions and gain insight into the unique challenges faced by these organizations.
Representatives from All Children's Hospital spoke about issues important to the future of children's healthcare, including:
Safety Net Hospital Reimbursement Rates
All Children's is paid below the cost of providing Medicaid services and provides over 60% Medicaid services.
Patient's Right to Choose Health Plans
Medicaid eligible patients should have the right to choose the most appropriate plan for themselves and their families.
Payments to Hospitals
HMOs are required to negotiate with providers in “good faith,” which is defined as offering the Medicaid fee for service rate, which includes the exempt rate the hospital is paid under the LIP program. However, if the hospitals do not accept the Medicaid fee for serviced rate and both sides cannot come to an agreement, then the hospital is forced to accept the Medicaid fee for service rate with a 10% discount. If any of the hospital contracts are above the Medicaid fee for service rate, the rate will be reduced to either the Medicaid fee for service rate or that rate less 10%.
Medicaid/Low Income Pool
Medicaid accounts for 28% percent of the state's budget. Close to 30% of the Medicaid Budget expenditures are spent on children . The rationale for hospital rate reductions continually used by AHCA and legislators is to balance the state budget, reduce the number or growth of Medicaid enrollees, change the fundamental Medicaid delivery system, reduce the scope of the current Medicaid program, reduce the per enrollee cost of Medicaid, improve quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of Medicaid.
All LIP money is appropriated by the Legislature. In fact, state general revenue contributes only a small portion of the dollars used to match federal funds. Taxpayers in ten counties contribute 94% of the $843 million non-federal share to support Florida's LIP pool.
Trauma Funding – Red Light Cameras
Today, ‘photographic technology' is available to law enforcement and if the law is updated to authorize camera use, the fine allocation should continue to be split between government and trauma centers. All Children's supports uniformity in the red light violation law so that ticketing fines and fines from red light cameras will go toward trauma funding.
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