Judge Rodgers orders White House to respond

Chief Judge Casey Rodgers has ordered the Obama administration to respond to Florida’s request to have its dispute with the federal government over the continuation of Low Income Pool dollars mediated. She wants the response today.

On Monday, attorneys for the governor filed a motion with the federal court in Pensacola that, if granted, would require the state and federal governments to go to mediation. Scott’s lawyers argue that the mediation is allowable under “home rule.”

“Under the circumstances court-ordered mediation would be appropriate to faciliate a decision within a timeframe that allows the Florida Legislature to pass a budget that ensures that state healthcare providers, ranging from trauma centers to children’s hospitals receive the funding necessary to provide critical medical services to needy residents,” the motion reads.

“By introducing a neutral mediator and insulating the process from extraneous influences, court-ordered mediation could facilitate a long overdue conclusion to these negotiations quickly, equitably, permanently, and–perhaps most importantly–constitutionally, and do so in a timeframe that respects, rather than deliberately frustrates, the state’s impending budget deadline.”

The federal government told the state last year that the Low Income Pool program – which currently provides $2.16 billion to the state – would expire June 30, 2015. Scott sued the federal government in court claiming the it was illegally tying LIP to Medicaid Expansion. He also requested a temporary injunction that, if approved, would require the feds to keep funding LIP at $2 billion.

In late May,the feds told Florida that it could expect to receive a $1 billion supplemental Low Income Pool program for the 2015-16 fiscal year and, additionally, a $600 million program for the 2016-17 year.

However, the governor’s attorneys believe the issue still is not resolved.

“The state cannot possibly anticipate at this point whether any semblance of its LIP program will continue to exist or how it will be funded if it exists at all,” attorneys for the governor wrote.

“Each day that passes without a resolution to this matter heightens the tension at the state Capitol …. (and) (d)efendants appear determined to leave the fate of the LIP program in limbo until long after that date–presumably in an effort to coerce the state into expanding Medicaid or to punish the state for failing to ultimately do so.”