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Florida lawmakers OK Medicaid pilot program extension Florida Times-Union

16.05.10

Just when it looked like the Medicaid experiment in Northeast Florida and one South Florida county was going to be expanded to 19 more counties or even statewide, the legislation fell apart.

Now, as leading state lawmakers vow to push anew next year for a Medicaid overhaul, the pilot program that was the basis for last month's legislative drama may get a second chance to prove its advocates right.

After failing to reach a compromise on expansive changes to the government insurance program for the poor, the House and Senate quietly voted on the last day of the session to extend Medicaid reform.

The pilot project is set to expire on June 30, 2011. The bill would extend that deadline to a date to be negotiated with the federal government. The move requires federal approval because states share Medicaid's costs with the federal government.

Failing to extend the reform experiment would cost the state $363 million in health-care financing.

The brainchild of former Gov. Jeb Bush, the 4-year-old program has steered thousands of Medicaid recipients into managed-care plans controlled by private insurance companies or medical provider networks, like one run by Shands Jacksonville. The program is being tested in Baker, Clay, Duval and Nassau counties as well as Broward County in South Florida.

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