Takeaways from Tallahassee — Sneak preview (Video)

Ed. note: This edition’s topper is cross-posted from Christine Sexton’s forthcoming health care newsletter, Diagnosis.

With hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicaid managed care contracts on the line, there could be some contentious battles in the months ahead both inside and outside the Florida Capitol.

Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Simone Marstiller is so convinced there will be legal challenges as the state begins the process of recouping its Medicaid managed care program that she is asking the Legislature to include an additional $2 million in her agency’s fiscal year 2022-2023 budget to hire outside counsel. Marstiller said she wanted funding available to her agency “at the ready.” to ensure her agency can hire the best outside legal help available.

“This is going to be a very large, high-dollar procurement process. And so, we anticipate the potential for a challenge at the time we put the solicitation out and potentially later at the time that we have awarded contracts,” Marstiller told members of the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee this week

She also hinted that her agency would be asking lawmakers in the 2022 Legislative Session to crack open the law that establishes the state’s mandatory Medicaid managed care program to reconfigure the Medicaid Regions. Currently, there are 11 and they are set in statute (along with the number of contracts the state can ink with managed care plans in each area.)

Marstiller told Florida Politics after the meeting that the agency did not have specifics about the potential redesign or how the 11 Regions would change.

But don’t be surprised if Marstiller dusts off an old plan floated by AHCA in 2017 that consolidated the existing 11 Regions into eight.

The 2017 proposal combined current Medicaid Regions 1 and 2 into a new bigger area called Medicaid Region A. Medicaid Regions 3 and 4 were rolled into new Medicaid Region B. And Medicaid Regions 5 and 6 were rolled together into Region C.

The 2017 bill also would have increased the minimum or maximum number of plans with which AHCA will contract in each area with the exception of Medicaid Region 7 (renamed Medicaid Region D under the proposal), which would have remained the same. While the House supported AHCA’s efforts at the time, the Senate had no appetite for change, 117 health care lobbyists registered to lobby the measure, HB 7117.

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Coming up, the usual assortment of tidbits, leftovers and not-ready-for-prime-time moments by Peter Schorsch, Drew Wilson, Renzo Downey, Jason Delgado, Christine Jordan Sexton and the staff of Florida Politics.

Take 5

The “Takeaway 5” — the Top 5 stories from the week that was:

DOH fines Leon County $3.6M for vaccine violations – The Health Department fined Leon County $3.57 million for violating the state vaccine passport ban. Under guidance from Gov. Ron DeSantis, DOH and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo found 714 instances, each fined at $5,000, in which the department said the county violated the ban on vaccine mandates. The county ultimately fired 14 employees. County Administrator Vince Long hinted at upcoming legal action to reject the fines. “It’s obvious to me that the Governor’s position here is political strategy which has nothing to do with the positions we’ve taken,” Long said.

Budget strong, but inflation worries continue – DeSantis has spent months warning inflation caused by President Joe Biden’s policies could hamper Florida’s economic recovery. Despite the inflation, labor, supply chain and Christmas gift concerns, Florida is looking at $2.3 billion more general revenue for 2022-23 than previously thought for a total of $36.3 billion. Current projections show Florida besting even pre-pandemic economic projections. However, the Legislature’s top economist attributed half of that to revenue expected from the new online sales tax measure and the Seminole Compact.

DeSantis vows court challenge to Biden vaccine mandate – The Governor has vowed to challenge the federal government’s authority to place vaccine requirements on businesses through Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Attorney General Ashley Moody previously joined a dozen other state attorneys general in threatening a lawsuit. The Biden administration moved closer to its big business mandate this week. “We are going to contest that immediately,” DeSantis said. There’s also a showdown underway in the Lone Star State, where Gov. Greg Abbott has banned vaccine mandates. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said policies from DeSantis and Abbott “fit a familiar pattern of putting politics over public health.” and are “out of step with a history of vaccine requirements.”

Perry files bill banning mask mandates – Sen. Keith Perry filed a bill to codify DeSantis’ ban on mask mandates in schools, and he expects more to come. The Gainesville Republican hopes the move will prevent school districts from circumventing the state’s legal position. He called the bill a good opportunity for debate and expert testimony on masking. “I have not seen what I would call one legitimate study on masks and children,” Perry said. The measure would also prohibit cities and counties from requiring people to wear masks or undergo medical procedures or treatments. Next on Perry’s docket is a bill, currently in drafting, to address vaccine requirements. His Gainesville nearly implemented a vaccine requirement for employees before backing down.

Florida gets $1.1 billion Medicaid boost – the federal government has given Florida “conditional approval” of a plan to pump $1.1 billion in increased federal Medicaid funds into home and community-based services. The additional funds are made possible by Congress’ decision to include in the American Rescue Plan a 10% increase in the federal Medicaid match for home and community-based services. The federal funds are flowing into the state as the home and community-based services industry is at a tipping point. Group homes that provide services to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities are shutting their doors or not taking new clients, the result of going more than a decade without a Medicaid rate increase from the state.

Vaccine scam

Beware, scammers are swindling Florida motorists with a new text scam.

The scam, Moody warned, starts with a text message inviting motorists to feature their vaccination status on their driver’s license.

“Florida is not updating driver’s licenses to include proof of vaccination—any solicitation making this claim is a scam that should be reported immediately,” Moody announced this week.

The scam forward motorists to a fraudulent Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles website. There, motorists are asked to submit personal information including Social Security and date of birth.

”If you receive a text asking for this information, it is a scam,” said Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Terry L. Rhodes. With only the information on your driver’s license, scammers can create many fraudulent financial accounts. All under your name, all without your knowledge. Do not respond to these texts and do not click on the links contained in the text message.”

Moody encouraged Floridians to report suspicious solicitations or COVID-19 vaccine-related advertisements online or by phone at 1(866) 9NO-SCAM

Floridians should also avoid posting photos of their vaccine card online and links included in suspicious emails, Moody added.

To watch Moody’s video alert, click on the image below