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.