TALLAHASEE, Fla. — Florida HME providers pitched a fierce battle last week against Medicaid reform legislation that could devastate the state's industry, and their efforts paid off — at least they hope.
In a series of urgent appeals April 15 for providers throughout the state to "call, fax and email" their legislators, Sean Schwinghammer, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Home Care Services, likened the proposed legislation to "the Titanic running at full speed."
Under House Bill 7223, Florida's Medicaid population of 2.7 million — now served by approximately 1,000 HME companies, according to Schwinghammer — would be moved into health maintenance organizations, and the state would contract with only three to 10 HME providers for each of six geographic areas. All other providers would be eliminated from serving Medicaid beneficiaries.
Lawmakers have said the plan would be a money-saver for the state's Medicaid program, which has seen its costs balloon to a staggering $19 billion a year. But at what cost to the rest of the system? FAHCS and other organizations charged that the House plan, which would reduce the number of providers to 60 or fewer, would likely place Medicaid beneficiaries in peril. They also predicted that as many as 800 HME companies could close, resulting in a loss of some 10,000 jobs.
"That's a big deal in a state with the second-to-highest unemployment in the country," Schwinghammer said.
Introduced April 6 and quickly scheduled for a Thursday afternoon vote, the bill, which House leaders had originally said would not be open to amendments or exemptions — "not for the elderly, incontinent waiver patients, developmentally disabled patients, children, etc.," Schwinghammer said — will now be amended and voted on today.
"It is the Miami-Dade County delegation that has held up the bill to give us a chance to make it better," he said in a Friday afternoon update. "We have worked closely with certain representatives who are going to the mat for the small and medium providers who are the bulk of our membership and the vast majority of those who provide care to our state."
Schwinghammer said that if the amended legislation passes, the Senate must come up with a companion bill; then, both chambers would create a compromise bill, which, if passed, would need to gain the signature of the governor to become law.
The Medicaid proposal is the latest slam against the state's HME providers. Last year, Blue Cross/Blue Shield dropped hundreds of providers from its program and contracted instead with regional companies to provide care and services to Florida beneficiaries.
For more information on the fight against Florida H.B. 7223, check www.fahcs.org.
