House Committee Continues to Mull Over Medicaid Reform

On an otherwise quiet Monday in the Florida House, the Health and Human Services Committee held another session on Medicaid reform, holding a workshop and touching on the differences between last years proposal and this years legislation.

The House has taken a careful and thoughtful approach to Medicaid reform this session, said Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill, the chairman of the committee.This legislation builds on the past successes of the Medicaid pilot program and last years legislation developed by the select council to offer comprehensive Medicaid reform that will serve all populations in an integrated managed-care program.

This legislation has been carefully crafted following the principles outlined in the Joint Medicaid Memorial that was agreed upon by both the House and Senate this fall, continued Schenck.After this workshop, we will have heard more than eight hours of testimony and gathered input from legislators, the public and stakeholders alike.

I am confident that by using this deliberate approach we have come up with legislation that addresses key concerns that have been raised and will provide coordinated, quality care to the Medicaid population while at the same time guaranteeing the long-term viability of the program, concluded Schenck.