State Rep. Alex Andrade revealed new evidence confirming that the controversial $10 million payment to the Hope Florida Foundation was indeed Medicaid money—and that the scheme ultimately cost Florida taxpayers $16 million, not the $10 million initially reported.
The Math Proves It
Speaking on the “(We Don’t) Color on the Dog” podcast, Andrade explained how the state’s payment to the federal government definitively proves the Hope Florida payment came from Medicaid funds.
“Last week, we confirmed that after Centene made its final payment to the state… they paid $38 million back to the federal government;$38 million is 57% of a $67 million settlement,” Andrade said. “Ultimately, for those who don’t like math, potentially it means that when James (Uthmeier) stole $10 million from this settlement and funneled it to his PAC, he also put the state of Florida, the taxpayers, on the hook to pay the feds back the $6 million we owed on the $10 that he stole.”
The representative’s investigation traced back to a 2021 offer from Medicaid contractor Centene to pay Florida $67 million for over-billing. The state sat on that offer until September 2024—just before the November election—when it suddenly accepted $57 million for the state and directed $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation.
“At the same time, DeSantis was desperate to use any resource available to him or any resource in a state agency to try and fight the abortion and marijuana amendments that were on the ballot in November,” Andrade said. “They suddenly said, ‘Centine, you know what? Send the state $57 million in 2024, and send $10 over to the Hope Florida Foundation. Bizarrely, they ( the governor’s office) kept trying to argue that this was on top of what they’d negotiated, and they negotiated a good deal.”
The lawmaker continued, “And I’m sitting here like, the math is pretty simple. They offered you $67 million in 2021, and now suddenly you’re saying that we should be thankful for a $57 million payment in 2024. It was a patently ridiculous argument from them. And then on top of that, they tried to argue that this $10 million that went to the foundation wasn’t Medicaid money. I know, and everybody else with a brain can understand that if it’s a Medicaid claim, it’s from a Medicaid contractor who’s only working for the state on Medicaid, it’s Medicaid money.”
Who is James Uthmeier? Uthmeier ran Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign and served as the governor’s chief of staff when Centene paid $10 million of its $67 million settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit charged with fundraising for First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida initiative. However, the $10 million didn’t go to help Hope Florida’s programs. Instead, the foundation approved $5 million grants each to the Florida Chamber’s Secure Florida’s Future and Save Our Society from Drugs.
These two nonprofits then rapidly transferred a combined $8.5 million to the political action committee (PAC) “Keep Florida Clean,” which was chaired by Uthmeier. Gov. DeSantis has since appointed Uthmeier as Florida’s Attorney General. A state jury is investigating the routing of the settlement to the PAC.
From Foundation to PAC in Days
The $10 million payment to Hope Florida was the only payment from the Centene settlement that was required before the election, Andrade noted. Within days, the foundation funneled the money through two nonprofits to James Uthmeier’s political action committee.
- “James didn’t steal $10 million from Floridians. He has now officially stolen $16 million from Florida taxpayers,” Andrade said, explaining that since the federal government funds roughly 57% of Florida’s Medicaid program, taxpayers must now cover the federal share of the diverted funds.
Grand Jury Investigations Continue
Both state and potential federal grand jury investigations are ongoing. Andrade suggested results from the state-level grand jury could come in early January, and believes federal action is now likely.
- “Now that AHCA (Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration) has admitted it was Medicaid money,” he said. “Personally, I’d be surprised if the DOJ didn’t take it seriously. I mean, this is $10 million in Medicaid funds that were funneled to a PAC.”
The lawmaker expressed sympathy for attorneys in the Attorney General’s own Medicaid fraud control unit: “I could not imagine being an attorney in James Uthmeier’s Medicaid fraud control unit right now. I mean, anybody I’m investigating for Medicaid fraud has stolen less than my boss from this program.”
DeSantis Goes After House Leadership
Andrade also addressed Governor DeSantis’s recent attacks on House leadership, calling them misplaced given the legislature’s role in passing every bill the governor has signed.
- “DeSantis has a bigger ego than even I realized,” Andrade said. “Every single piece of legislation he’s ever signed, we’ve had to pass. He takes credit for ideas that we’ve come up with over the years.”
The lawmaker pointed out that DeSantis has been notably quiet about the Hope Florida investigation since May, when he called Andrade a “jackass” for raising questions about the settlement.
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- “I think at some point between April and today, he’s realized that either the facts were pretty well established or he really didn’t know that James Uthmeier was doing all this behind his back,” Andrade said.
Please, Representative Andrade, take the illegalities of this administration down before they get their teeth sunk any farther into UWF and PSC than they are already gnawing. We can still fix Florida, but some things are darn near irreparable, and destroying our higher ed is one of them.