Florida Republicans already pitching Medicaid overhaul

TALLAHASSEE -- The wheels are already turning in a legislative plan to craft a Medicaid revamp that would include major limits on lawsuits, something that is firmly in line with Governor-Elect Rick Scott's proposed plan to make it more difficult for patients to sue doctors.

Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, told the News Service Friday that he and fellow Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, will meet in the coming days to examine last year's legislation aimed at steering Medicaid patients into a managed care program, an expansion of a five-county pilot program.

LIABILITY TWIST In a twist that will surely raise trial bar antennae, the two plan to include liability protections for providers and others in any proposal the Senate considers this spring when the Legislature meets in Tallahassee.

``If we're going to be able to improve access to Medicaid, we have to provide a less litigious environment,'' said Gaetz, who is in line to succeed incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos as Senate President in 2012.

A Medicaid overhaul sprung to life in the 2010 legislative session in a measure largely authored by incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park. The House proposal would have given HMOs, provider service networks and managed care plans the authority to compete. Under the proposal, the state would be divided into six Medicaid regions, in which plans would compete.

The Senate had also wanted to pursue a federal waiver to craft a Florida-only Medicaid plan, imposing caps on some services and requiring patients to make co-payments and meet deductibles. The plan fell apart as lawmakers struggled to cobble together the state's budget, but lawmakers hinted that it would likely return during the 2011 session.

`NOT THRILLED'

The Florida Medical Association was ``not thrilled'' with last year's plan of expanding managed care for Medicaid recipients, said FMA general counsel Jeffrey Scott, and would prefer to see increased reimbursement rates for healthcare providers. The physicians' group, however, is interested in working with Senate and House leaders in examining lawsuit limits, he said.

``We're hopeful that while we would still prefer for rates to increase, (a liability limit) is at least something that will lead to more physicians seeing patients,'' Scott said.

The issue has reared its head in Florida politics before. Much of the summer of 2003 was dedicated to special sessions on medical malpractice that essentially pitted the legal community against the medical community. Lawmakers spent most of the summer fighting over legislation and ultimately reached a compromise that put some limits on how much doctors could be sued in malpractice cases.

This fall on the campaign trail, Governor-Elect Rick Scott unveiled legislative proposals that included limits on lawsuits against car manufacturers, insurance companies, and physicians, specifically mentioning liability limits for doctors who treat Medicaid patients.

Representatives of the Florida Justice Association, which represents trial lawyers, could not be reached for comment Friday on the pending Medicaid reforms.

Haridopolos and Cannon said earlier this week that they also plan to propose a resolution during a special meeting of the Legislature later this month that underscores their effort to revamp the Medicaid program during next spring's regular session. Debate on the issue, however, would not begin until the chambers begin committee work as early as December in the Senate. House leaders released a tentative agenda Friday with regular committee meetings in January.

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