Bill Text: FL S1836 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Medicaid
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-09 - Died on Calendar [S1836 Detail]
Download: Florida-2012-S1836-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2012 SM 1836
By Senator Negron
28-01466-12 20121836__
1 Senate Memorial
2 A memorial to the United States Secretary of Health
3 and Human Services, urging the Secretary to approve
4 the requested federal Medicaid waivers in order to
5 expand Florida’s Medicaid managed care pilot program
6 statewide.
7
8 WHEREAS, the Legislature believes that Medicaid reform
9 should be pro-patient and pro-taxpayer and Florida’s Medicaid
10 managed care pilot program has achieved both conditions, and
11 WHEREAS, in 2011, the Legislature adopted CS/HB 7107,
12 chapter 2011-134, Laws of Florida, which established the
13 Medicaid program as a statewide, integrated managed care program
14 for all covered services, including long-term care services, and
15 WHEREAS, Medicaid patients in this state are deserving of
16 more control over their health care than the current system
17 allows, and decisions regarding health care should not be made
18 by politicians and bureaucrats, but by Medicaid patients and
19 their doctors based on each patient’s unique health care needs,
20 and
21 WHEREAS, taxpayers are demanding greater accountability
22 over how their tax dollars are spent, and must be assured that
23 these funds are being used efficiently to support an affordable
24 and sustainable Medicaid safety net that promotes health and
25 wellness, and
26 WHEREAS, as the cost of maintaining the traditional
27 Medicaid program continues to grow, taxpayers are faced with the
28 threat of tax hikes and service cuts to prop up a failing
29 program, and
30 WHEREAS, Medicaid patients in counties where the Medicaid
31 managed care pilot program has been implemented are healthier
32 and happier with their health care than patients enrolled in
33 traditional Medicaid managed care and commercial plans from
34 health maintenance organizations, have better health care
35 outcomes, have more plan options to choose from, and have access
36 to health care services that would otherwise not be covered in
37 Florida or any other state, and
38 WHEREAS, competition within this state’s Medicaid managed
39 care pilot program resulted in more customized benefits,
40 expanded coverage, and lower costs for patients, and
41 WHEREAS, taxpayers in this state have saved up to $118
42 million annually since 2006, when Florida’s five-county Medicaid
43 reform pilot program took effect, and approval of this state’s
44 waiver requests will allow taxpayers to save an estimated $901
45 million annually, and
46 WHEREAS, approval of Florida’s waiver requests will allow
47 all state residents to enjoy the benefits of a well-run Medicaid
48 program that is efficient, affordable, and sustainable, NOW,
49 THEREFORE,
50
51 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
52
53 That, on behalf of the residents of this state, the
54 Legislature requests the United States Secretary of Health and
55 Human Services to approve this state’s requested Medicaid
56 waivers, which will allow the Medicaid managed care pilot
57 program to be implemented statewide.
58 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
59 dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
60 President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
61 United States House of Representatives, to the United States
62 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and to each member of
63 the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.
