Florida's nursing home industry is lobbying Tallahassee for an increase in Medicaid reimbursement, to the tune of approximately $20 million in taxpayer dollars. Florida's Republican led house is more focused on cutting budgets than increasing nursing home payments. "There are really too many things in play to determine if it's possible, but if we can we will consider it," said Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Chairman Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah. "If we have to add more money to LIP, it's going to change everything."

Families for Better Care, a Florida nursing home watch group, has issued a statement that Florida's nursing homes make significantly more money than they admit to. "If the Legislature wants to lift this freeze (on annual increase), it has to be with strings-attached money," said Brain Lee, president of Families for Better Care who served as the state's long-term care ombudsman until he was ousted by Gov. Rick Scott when he took office in 2011. "I'm not sure about some of the smaller ones, but its those larger companies that are more likely to cut staff and services just to make a buck."

Source: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/floridas-nursing-homes-want-more-medicaid-money-but-lawmakers-are-unsure-if-the-state-can-afford-i-2-366266041.html