Diagnosis For 6.6.22: Checking The Pulse Of Florida Health Care News And Policy

Florida’s big-ticket plan to overhaul necessary Medicaid contracts is kicking into gear.

The Agency for Health Care Administration is knee-deep in negotiating and preparing to negotiate contracts that will significantly affect how the massive safety-net health care program works.

AHCA has three open invitations to negotiate with vendors interested in information technology contracts that work with Medicaid.

The state has twice extended the deadline on two invitations to negotiate (ITN) to continue negotiating beyond the termination date.

One of the extended ITNs is a $139.7 million contract for seven years to develop a unified operations center.

The state was slated to post the winning bid last week but extended the deadline by one month.

The second ITN is for a $33 million provider services module that will electronically capture, validate, and process provider enrollment applications (initial and renewal), including an automated screening and monitoring component to support state and federal requirements.

Negotiations on that ITN have also been extended by a month. The winners are slated to be announced on June 30.

Florida Politics requested the names of the vendors that submitted bids for the two ITNs. But AHCA has not yet provided Florida Politics with the information.

The state is procuring a third module for the FX Program for “core” services. The seven-year contract is worth $155 million. AHCA is slated to announce which vendor it chose for the core services module on July 8.

Meanwhile, as AHCA prepares to get busy on the procurement of the Medicaid program, it will review the responses that 54 vendors submitted to the state l by last week’s deadline on how to improve the program. Florida Politics requested the submissions, but AHCA had not provided the proposals, which are public record, by press time.

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— One more year —

Florida has until March 31, 2025, to spend the $1.2 billion the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis requested from the federal government. Florida Medicaid officials said they would distribute the supplemental funds in two rounds.

The state planned to distribute more than $680 million in the first round of grant opportunities but initially announced that $503 million in grants would be awarded to 1,945 providers. The Agency for Health Care Administration, which houses the state’s Medicaid office, announced it would extend the opportunity for providers that didn’t submit a grant application by the initial deadline and don’t have “staff” (only contracted employees) to apply for the money.

AHCA divided the $680 million into three silos: $405 million in grants for provider stipends, $266.6 million for retaining employees and recruiting new ones, and $12 million for delayed egresses. The extended deadline came and went and repeated attempts to get information from AHCA regarding how much added grant money has been awarded and how many providers will benefit went unanswered.

Meanwhile, there’s no word from AHCA as to when it plans to make another round of grant opportunities available.

The administration of President Joe Biden gave Florida (and every other state) an additional year to spend the increased federal Medicaid funds that were made available under the American Rescue Plan.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to expanding access to home- and community-based care for people with disabilities and older adults. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, these additional funds will help people with Medicaid to live and thrive in the setting of their choice,” said Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “With this extension, we are addressing states’ concerns, giving states the time and resources to strengthen connections to care at home and in communities.”

Home and community-based services, such as those that aid people with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing and eating, traditionally aren’t covered by the Medicaid program. But the services could help avoid institutionalization for the elderly and those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Florida provides home and community-based services through the Medicaid IBudget waiver and through the Medicaid managed long-term care.

— Axed —

DeSantis’ massive budget vetoes totaled more than $3 billion. While most attention was on bigger ticket items — like new state airplanes or a new prison — several health care projects also got whacked.

Senators and House members were able to sprinkle more than $337 million in health care projects in the budget sent to DeSantis.

An analysis done by Diagnosis shows that the Governor wound up vetoing nearly 70 projects totaling slightly more than $39.2 million. This total doesn’t include money in other bills and other parts of the budget, including $20 million designed to help Moffitt Cancer Center’s ambitious plan to build a new cancer center in Pasco County. The $20 million was annualized over 30 years making it a $600 million veto.

The largest member project vetoed in the health care budget was $4 million, which was intended to help pay for improvements to help Gulf Breeze Hospital better withstand hurricanes. The project had been championed by a pair of Pensacola Republicans: Sen. Doug Broxson and Rep. Alex Andrade.

DeSantis’s health care vetoes took out projects sponsored by legislators in both chambers and from both parties, including projects pushed by future legislative leaders such as Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, who will become the next Senate President later this year. A quick rundown shows that he vetoed projects recommended by 28 state Senators and dozens of House members.

— Spared —

While budget vetoes eliminated Moffitt funding, DeSantis let slide a hefty $125 million appropriation for the Florida State University Health Tallahassee Center. The five-story building will be located on the Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare campus and include educational, medical, and research laboratory space. The center will provide about 130,000 gross square feet.

“Combining advanced research and clinical care, FSU Health Tallahassee Center will facilitate the transformation of Tallahassee into a regional health care destination attracting patients from throughout the area and neighboring states,” said FSU President Richard McCullough. “The FSU Health Tallahassee Center provides FSU with the potential to transform health care delivery, education, and biomedical research throughout Florida, surrounding states, and the nation.”

DeSantis also let slide an $80 million appropriation for a new trauma center at UF Health Jacksonville named after Leon Haley Jr., the former CEO of the hospital killed in a Jet Ski accident last year.