Government
Weekly Roundup: Worries -- Drug Test Problems, Granny Dumping
Recap and analysis of the week in state government
Around the State
Florida health-care officials hit the road this week to hold hearings about the new Medicaid overhaul -- and got an earful about “granny dumping” and endangered mom-and-pop pharmacies.
The Agency for Health Care Administration, which held 10 hearings from Pensacola to Fort Myers, can do little about many of the objections. In passing the overhaul, lawmakers required that seniors enroll in managed-care plans and decided against giving special treatment to independent drug stores.
But the hearings are a prelude to AHCA seeking all-important approval of the overhaul from the Obama administration. The objections could offer fuel for opponents who want the federal government to reject the Legislature’s plan.
Gov. Rick Scott, meanwhile, accomplished a priority this week when he signed a bill combining agencies into the new Department of Economic Opportunity. The bill includes dismantling the Department of Community Affairs, a move that is already starting to ripple through growth decisions.
But word also got out this week that Scott has delayed moving forward with a plan to require drug testing for state employees. He decided not to implement the plan while the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida challenges its constitutionality in federal court.
MEDICAID ROAD SHOW:
AHCA faces an Aug. 1 deadline for submitting a detailed proposal to the federal government to carry out the Medicaid overhaul, which calls for almost all beneficiaries to enroll in managed-care plans by October 2014.
That short time frame sent agency officials barreling across the state this week to hold public hearings. They held as many as four in one day -- hitting Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Gardens on Thursday.
Hundreds of people turned out for the hearings, with many critical of the overhaul. During a hearing Monday, Pensacola resident Julia Pearsall warned of glitches in moving to the managed-care system.
“What happens in the short run can be a matter of life and death to the recipients,’’ said Pearsall, who has long worked on social-service issues.
It was also clear from the hearings that some of the opposition was well-organized. Community pharmacy operators, for instance, turned out en masse because of concerns that HMOs will use mail-order pharmacies to fill prescriptions for Medicaid beneficiaries.
“With unemployment and the economy the way it is, it seems illogical to put more stress on independent business,’’ said David Enfinger, of A&E Pharmacy in Pensacola.
Another common refrain came from people opposed to requiring seniors to enroll in managed care. An oft-repeated sound bite: The overhaul will lead to “granny dumping,’’ with HMOs trying to keep seniors out of nursing homes.
Managed-care industry officials, however, argued that they will improve the care of Medicaid beneficiaries.
“We’re not managed costs,’’ said William McHugh, president of Amerigroup Florida. “We’re managed care.’’
JOBS AND BODILY FLUIDS:
Florida got a glimmer of good news Friday, with the announcement that May’s unemployment rate was 10.6 percent -- down 0.2 percent from April.
But Gov. Rick Scott made the biggest jobs-related news, when he signed a bill to create a new economic-development agency and acknowledged putting off drug tests for state workers.
The new Department of Economic Opportunity will merge agencies such as the Agency for Workforce Innovation and the remnants of the Department of Community Affairs.
Scott said the bureaucratic changes are intended to help create jobs. Dismantling the Department of Community Affairs, for example, largely eliminates state oversight of local growth decisions, removing a potential roadblock to development.
“The bill I signed today provides us flexibility to seize opportunities created by developing markets and effectively respond to the changing needs of the businesses that grow our economy,” Scott said in a prepared statement.
State workers, meanwhile, got at least a temporary reprieve from Scott’s drive to start requiring drug tests. Scott issued an executive order in March calling for the tests, but put them on hold amid an ACLU lawsuit.
The Agency for Health Care Administration, which held 10 hearings from Pensacola to Fort Myers, can do little about many of the objections. In passing the overhaul, lawmakers required that seniors enroll in managed-care plans and decided against giving special treatment to independent drug stores.
But the hearings are a prelude to AHCA seeking all-important approval of the overhaul from the Obama administration. The objections could offer fuel for opponents who want the federal government to reject the Legislature’s plan.
Gov. Rick Scott, meanwhile, accomplished a priority this week when he signed a bill combining agencies into the new Department of Economic Opportunity. The bill includes dismantling the Department of Community Affairs, a move that is already starting to ripple through growth decisions.
But word also got out this week that Scott has delayed moving forward with a plan to require drug testing for state employees. He decided not to implement the plan while the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida challenges its constitutionality in federal court.
MEDICAID ROAD SHOW:
AHCA faces an Aug. 1 deadline for submitting a detailed proposal to the federal government to carry out the Medicaid overhaul, which calls for almost all beneficiaries to enroll in managed-care plans by October 2014.
That short time frame sent agency officials barreling across the state this week to hold public hearings. They held as many as four in one day -- hitting Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Gardens on Thursday.
Hundreds of people turned out for the hearings, with many critical of the overhaul. During a hearing Monday, Pensacola resident Julia Pearsall warned of glitches in moving to the managed-care system.
“What happens in the short run can be a matter of life and death to the recipients,’’ said Pearsall, who has long worked on social-service issues.
It was also clear from the hearings that some of the opposition was well-organized. Community pharmacy operators, for instance, turned out en masse because of concerns that HMOs will use mail-order pharmacies to fill prescriptions for Medicaid beneficiaries.
“With unemployment and the economy the way it is, it seems illogical to put more stress on independent business,’’ said David Enfinger, of A&E Pharmacy in Pensacola.
Another common refrain came from people opposed to requiring seniors to enroll in managed care. An oft-repeated sound bite: The overhaul will lead to “granny dumping,’’ with HMOs trying to keep seniors out of nursing homes.
Managed-care industry officials, however, argued that they will improve the care of Medicaid beneficiaries.
“We’re not managed costs,’’ said William McHugh, president of Amerigroup Florida. “We’re managed care.’’
JOBS AND BODILY FLUIDS:
Florida got a glimmer of good news Friday, with the announcement that May’s unemployment rate was 10.6 percent -- down 0.2 percent from April.
But Gov. Rick Scott made the biggest jobs-related news, when he signed a bill to create a new economic-development agency and acknowledged putting off drug tests for state workers.
The new Department of Economic Opportunity will merge agencies such as the Agency for Workforce Innovation and the remnants of the Department of Community Affairs.
Scott said the bureaucratic changes are intended to help create jobs. Dismantling the Department of Community Affairs, for example, largely eliminates state oversight of local growth decisions, removing a potential roadblock to development.
“The bill I signed today provides us flexibility to seize opportunities created by developing markets and effectively respond to the changing needs of the businesses that grow our economy,” Scott said in a prepared statement.
State workers, meanwhile, got at least a temporary reprieve from Scott’s drive to start requiring drug tests. Scott issued an executive order in March calling for the tests, but put them on hold amid an ACLU lawsuit.
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