Florida Governor Rick Scott Doesn't Spare Health Care in His Budget Vetoes; False "Florida Forever" Accounting Comprises the Majority of "Cuts," However
Florida Governor Rick Scott officially signed the State Budget yesterday, May 26, in a highly scripted ceremony that took place in a Tea Party "stronghold" known as "The Villages." Reports were that members of the public were turned away when they attempted to attend. The Florida Current reports below on the health care line items that suffered from what was a record amount of vetoes by a Florida governor at $615 million.
To view the complete list of Governor Scott's line item vetoes, click here.
Notably, however, much of the "vetoes" actually represented false accounting and non-existent funds (as reported by Sunshine State News here) in relation to the Florida Forever State land buying program. Another "veto" was $3.2 million set aside for the Governor's pet charity, the "Wounded Warrior" program. The day before the veto, the charity officially returned the money set aside for it by the Legislature, claiming that they do not accept government funding (which leads us to wonder why it was set aside in the first place?).
The Florida Current report on health care-related veto items is below:
Scott doesn't spare health care in his budget vetoes
Christine Jordan Sexton,
Above: Gov. Rick Scott signs the budget Thursday in the Villages and students from Four Corners Charter School look on. Scott slashed $615 million from the budget before signing it. | Photo: Gray Rohrer
State lawmakers cut spending in health care as part of their overall plan to eliminate a nearly $4 billion budget shortfall.
But that didn't stop Gov. Rick Scott from using his veto pen to eliminate even more health care spending from the state's now $69 billion budget.
The governor eliminated a long list of funding for health care and safety net programs, ranging from millions for a Brevard County program that works with homeless veterans to money for programs designed to help the health of minorities. He also whacked $750,000 for the Farm Share program, a food bank program based in South Florida.
Scott eliminated $5 million to Mount Sinai Medical Center, which would have been used to help fund graduate medical education programs for 120 resident physicians. Mount Sinai lobbyist Ron Book called the cut disappointing. "He was looking to focus on new jobs, we think [funding graduate medical education] provides new jobs.
"It is what it is. At the end of the day he reached a pretty big [veto] number and we'll see where it all goes," Book said.
Mt. Sinai is a 1,171 bed tertiary care teaching hospital. The Mt. Sinai School of Medicine was founded in 1968 and in 2010 ranked 22nd out of 126 medical schools nationwide in a U.S. News & World Report best graduate schools issue.
Book said the GME funding for Mt. Sinai was new and that Scott targeted many new initiatives. Lee Memorial, which wants to build a new children's hospital, also felt the sting of Scott's veto. Although it was included in both chambers' budgets from the start, Scott eliminated $1.5 million that was supposed to help the hospital plan for a new children's facility.
Lee Memorial also had recurring funding for its regional perinatal intensive care center -- or a RPICC -- eliminated. That funding has been recurring for more than a decade.
While Scott in his veto letter said there is "merit to the study," he eliminated from the budget $150,000 for the Neurological Injury Compensation Association to study birth related brachial plexus injuries. Scott said he believed NICA -- the state's no fault group which provides care for certain brain-damaged children as a result of oxygen deprivation -- had the authority to conduct the study without legislative authority.
NICA Executive Director Kenney Shipley said NICA's general counsel was researching whether the study could be conducted as Scott suggested in his veto letter. The study was to focus on birth related brachial plexus injuries, including the causes and treatments as well as their impact on malpractice premiums, and was slated to be given to the Senate President and House Speaker no later than Dec. 1.
Shipley said the brachial plexus injuries don't involve the brain and therefore aren't covered by NICA. Shipley attributed the veto to the governor not wanting to spend money on "anything that is not essential and obviously he viewed this as non-essential."
To view the complete list of Governor Scott's line item vetoes, click here.
Notably, however, much of the "vetoes" actually represented false accounting and non-existent funds (as reported by Sunshine State News here) in relation to the Florida Forever State land buying program. Another "veto" was $3.2 million set aside for the Governor's pet charity, the "Wounded Warrior" program. The day before the veto, the charity officially returned the money set aside for it by the Legislature, claiming that they do not accept government funding (which leads us to wonder why it was set aside in the first place?).
The Florida Current report on health care-related veto items is below:
Scott doesn't spare health care in his budget vetoes
Christine Jordan Sexton,
State lawmakers cut spending in health care as part of their overall plan to eliminate a nearly $4 billion budget shortfall.
But that didn't stop Gov. Rick Scott from using his veto pen to eliminate even more health care spending from the state's now $69 billion budget.
The governor eliminated a long list of funding for health care and safety net programs, ranging from millions for a Brevard County program that works with homeless veterans to money for programs designed to help the health of minorities. He also whacked $750,000 for the Farm Share program, a food bank program based in South Florida.
Scott eliminated $5 million to Mount Sinai Medical Center, which would have been used to help fund graduate medical education programs for 120 resident physicians. Mount Sinai lobbyist Ron Book called the cut disappointing. "He was looking to focus on new jobs, we think [funding graduate medical education] provides new jobs.
"It is what it is. At the end of the day he reached a pretty big [veto] number and we'll see where it all goes," Book said.
Mt. Sinai is a 1,171 bed tertiary care teaching hospital. The Mt. Sinai School of Medicine was founded in 1968 and in 2010 ranked 22nd out of 126 medical schools nationwide in a U.S. News & World Report best graduate schools issue.
Book said the GME funding for Mt. Sinai was new and that Scott targeted many new initiatives. Lee Memorial, which wants to build a new children's hospital, also felt the sting of Scott's veto. Although it was included in both chambers' budgets from the start, Scott eliminated $1.5 million that was supposed to help the hospital plan for a new children's facility.
Lee Memorial also had recurring funding for its regional perinatal intensive care center -- or a RPICC -- eliminated. That funding has been recurring for more than a decade.
While Scott in his veto letter said there is "merit to the study," he eliminated from the budget $150,000 for the Neurological Injury Compensation Association to study birth related brachial plexus injuries. Scott said he believed NICA -- the state's no fault group which provides care for certain brain-damaged children as a result of oxygen deprivation -- had the authority to conduct the study without legislative authority.
NICA Executive Director Kenney Shipley said NICA's general counsel was researching whether the study could be conducted as Scott suggested in his veto letter. The study was to focus on birth related brachial plexus injuries, including the causes and treatments as well as their impact on malpractice premiums, and was slated to be given to the Senate President and House Speaker no later than Dec. 1.
Shipley said the brachial plexus injuries don't involve the brain and therefore aren't covered by NICA. Shipley attributed the veto to the governor not wanting to spend money on "anything that is not essential and obviously he viewed this as non-essential."
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