Dive Brief:
- With Florida lawmakers deadlocked on the issue of state Medicaid expansion and the governor accusing the federal government of coercion, the Obama adminstration has announced what it is now willing to provide for the state's Low Income Pool program, which reimburses hospitals for treating the uninsured.
- The administration said that it could authorize $1 billion for fiscal year 2015 (less than half the amount requested) and $600 million for fiscal year 2016. The LIP program is supposed to expire June 30.
- The guidance is expected to help Florida lawmakers complete a budget and avoid a government shutdown over the impasse between the governor and House, which opposes Medicaid expansion, and the Sentate, which supports it.
Dive Insight:
While Florida's LIP funding hangs in the balance, federal officials say the state was informed in 2012 and 2014 that the program would expire in 2015 and that the state would need to pursue alternative funding.
Continuing lower levels of funding for the next two years would buy Florida time to address covering those who remain uninsured.
"Our preliminary view is that 2015 and 2016 should serve as a transition year," Vikki Wachino, director of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told The New York Times. She says the funding would help "to create stability for providers while the state creates alternative financing arrangements."
The administration noted again that Medicaid expansion would bring $2.1 billion in federal funding to Florida's hospitals.