The Florida House on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill (SB 348) that would require the Medicaid program to pay Medicare deductibles and cost sharing for non-emergency transportation services.
The Senate had previously passed the measure, meaning it is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Medicaid is the safety-net program for poor, elderly and disabled residents and is jointly funded by the state and federal governments. It is administered by the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
Medicare is a federal health-insurance program for people 65 or older, people under 65 with certain disabilities and people with end-stage renal disease. The program is administered by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
People can be dually eligible for the programs. Medicare is responsible for the acute-care services of dually eligible people, and Medicaid covers Medicare premiums and cost sharing requirements.
While Florida law currently requires Medicaid to pay all deductibles and co-insurance for Medicare emergency transportation services, it has been silent about whether Medicaid covers out-of-pocket costs for non-emergency transportation services.
