Gov. Rick Scott gave hospitals a list of data demands Thursday — and a tight window to meet it — in advance of next week’s first scheduled meeting of his health care commission.
Scott is seeking nine years of financial data from hospitals by Monday. Most of what Scott is seeking should already be housed in his Agency for Health Care Administration, but the governor seems to want Florida hospitals to take the time to submit the date.
He has already asked hospitals to prepare three different “scenarios” for profit-sharing with each other to offset a potential loss of more than $1 billion in federal aid.
The move appears to be the latest step in an all-out public relations offensive by the governor against the Senate’s Florida Health Insurance Exchange (FHIX), a privatized form of Medicaid expansion sought by hospitals and most other health care providers.
Scott and the House oppose FHIX, a standoff that derailed the two-month legislative session.
So far, Scott has sued the Obama administration, sought a court-ordered injunction against federal officials, formed the nine-member health care commission (which includes only one health care professional) and warned that tax breaks and higher school spending could be sacrificed because of the Legislature’s health care.
On Wednesday, Scott then sent a letter to federal officials, suggesting he was open to negotiating on health coverage — but mostly on his terms.
Original article here.