November 20,2014
By Maggie Clark,
SARASOTA – Despite a threat that thousands of local needy residents could lose current access to the area’s only public hospital, state officials say they won’t yet render an opinion on whether such a move would run afoul of Florida’s Medicaid rules.
Officials from the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) say it is too soon to decide whether Staywell Wellcare’s decision to drop Sarasota Memorial from its network as of Dec. 31 would violate rules governing Medicaid insurance providers.
[…]
Joan Alker, executive director at the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, led a team of researchers in a multi-year study of Florida’s Medicaid program.
“There were a lot of concerns among providers about what managed care would mean, and this is a very troubling development for Sarasota,” Alker said.
“There are always power struggles between hospitals and managed care companies, but it’s pretty unusual that the largest plan moves to drop the largest hospital,” Alker said.
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