Two nursing-home industry groups sparred publicly Wednesday about a Senate plan that would revamp payments in the Medicaid program.
LeadingAge Florida and the Florida Health Care Association held back-to-back news conferences in the Capitol as they battle over part of the Senate's proposed budget that includes what is known as a "prospective payment system" in Medicaid.
Florida has long discussed moving to such a system, which would provide a more standardized way of determining payment rates than the current system. But the complex details of a prospective-payment system would lead to shifts in how much money nursing homes get paid.
LeadingAge Florida, which includes nursing homes in continuing-care retirement communities, opposes the Senate proposal and is calling for the state Agency for Health Care Administration to work on a revised plan. Meanwhile, the Florida Health Care Association, which says it represents 82 percent of the nursing homes in the state, backs the Senate plan. The groups disagree, in part, about whether the Senate plan adequately accounts for quality of care. The House's proposed budget does not include a prospective-payment system.
