SENATOR MONTFORD UPDATES DISTRICT THREE ON IMPACTS OF LIP FUNDING

TALLAHASSEE- The Senate Appropriations Committee has heard from several experts on the issue of healthcare funding as well as some grave testimony from those that will face the consequences of limited or no funding. Senator Bill Montford, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee gave an update on his position and what District Three can expect:

The consequences of not addressing critical healthcare costs will be real and immediate in North Florida. The University of Florid Shands Teaching Hospital in Jacksonville indicated it would be a matter of months before they closed their doors. Without the guarantee of the Low Income Pool (LIP) funding from the federal government, the State faces a $600 million price tag just to keep safety net hospitals open. In the region surrounding my district the following hospitals will face critical revenue losses:

Calhoun Liberty Hospital

Capital Regional Medical Center

Doctors Memorial Hospital

George E. Weems Memorial Hospital

Jackson Hospital

Lake Butler Hospital

Madison County Memorial Hospital

Shands Teaching Hospital Clinic (Jacksonville)

Tallahassee Memorial Hospital

Florida has more than half a million children today that do not receive regular health care and are uninsured. Doing nothing is not an option. Health care for those uninsured children means waiting until they are so sick their only choice is the emergency room. In our elementary, middle and high schools some of the busiest times in the clinics are first thing in the morning. Parents are left with no choice but to send a child they know is ill to school and to tell them to go straight to the clinic. When the choice for a parent working two jobs is between putting food on the table or having health insurance for their children, there is something wrong with the system and letting children suffer the consequences of a failing healthcare system is unacceptable.

In the Senate, we know that LIP and expansion go hand in hand, and without expansion, LIP will be withheld. The absence of LIP would be devastating for the already overextended hospitals in my district. The closure of those hospitals means not only more patients unserved but also the loss of those jobs. The Senate FHIX program is not only sound policy with bipartisan support, it’s not just good economics but it is also the right thing to do. It is a strong and realistic approach to do what is right for children and to do what’s right for the State of Florida.

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