Florida Asked To Review Alternatives For Lost Hospital Funds

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CBSMiami/AP) —  Florida lawmakers will have to decide what to do with  a possible annual loss of $1.3 billion in federal funds  that help compensate hospitals and providers who treat uninsured and Medicaid patients.

The federal government asked Florida to study alternate ways to replace the funds. The report released late Thursday offers three possibilities, but noted each is flawed.

The state has known for some time that the so-called low-income pool funding will likely end in June. The loss might provide the ammunition that Medicaid expansion proponents have been looking for.

Federal officials assumed states would expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and that hospitals wouldn't need as much money because more patients would have insurance.

Medicaid expansion is one of the solutions offered in the study. The Legislature would have to sign off.

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