Latest news with #FloridaDonation
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor, lawmakers spar over $10 million donation. What is Hope Florida?
Tensions were high in the Florida Legislature over the last week as a panel of House lawmakers demanded answers about money for a program spearheaded by First Lady Casey DeSantis. The subject: What was called a $10 million "donation" to the Hope Florida Foundation, whose goal is to help Floridians receiving traditional welfare assistance to move on to services offered by nonprofits and religious organizations such as churches. The money was part of a $67 million legal settlement between AHCA and Centene, a large provider of services under Florida's Medicaid-managed care plans. The problem: Under state law, money from settlements must be deposited into the state's general revenue fund and reported to the Legislature for oversight. The $10 million wasn't. Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday denied that the $10 million was part of the agreement, which was signed in September 2024 and not disclosed to the Legislature. "When you do settlements, you can try to get as much money as you can, but this was in addition to what they were getting," he told reporters at a press conference in Miami. He described it as "kind of like a cherry on top, where they agreed to make an additional contribution, and so we were served well by what AHCA did.' But on Friday, the latest revelation from the Miami Herald was that "the Hope Florida Foundation turned around and gave $5 million a piece to organizations that in turn gave millions to a political committee waging an anti-marijuana amendment campaign championed by the governor." The use of the $10 million 'looks like criminal fraud by some of those involved,' GOP state Rep. Alex Andrade, one of DeSantis' main critics, told the newspaper. "... (W)ho on earth thought this was legal, moral or ethical?' DeSantis' defenders on social media denied any wrongdoing by the administration. The governor had been pushing lawmakers to codify his wife's program into law. Casey DeSantis is said to be considering a run for governor in 2026 to replace her husband, who is term-limited. Here's what to know: Hope Florida controversy: Feud between DeSantis, Florida House deepens as governor blasts lawmakers' inaction Last week, members of the state House noticed that a legislative analysis mentioned problems with obtaining financial details from Hope Florida, Politico reported. On Wednesday, House lawmakers – led by Andrade as chair of the Health Care Budget Subcommittee – hammered Shevaun Harris, the secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, for over two hours. AHCA had directed health insurers to cooperate with Hope Florida as part of their contracts. The questions ranged from the Centene payment, which was described in the agreement as "a one-time donation," to Hope Florida getting preferential treatment in state contracts, and a lack of transparency regarding who is responsible for the organization. 'The Centene Entities' obligation to pay the Hope Florida Donation shall be fully satisfied and extinguished upon completion of the wire transfer deposit of such installment into the account of The Hope Florida Foundation, Inc., as directed by AHCA,' the settlement said, according to a copy acquired by Politico. 'I still can't understand how it is featured so heavily in the state's largest contract, yet I can't get an answer as to exactly how Hope Florida is operating,' Andrade said. 'I still can't get answers about a $10 million transfer of funds that was probably illegal.' Harris struggled at times to answer questions and later released a 4-minute video with other state agency heads who work with Hope Florida, calling Andrade's questioning an "ambush." On Thursday evening, Andrade appeared on former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz's One America News show to discuss the matter, and the two men compared it to "settlement slush funds," settlements that require a donation to a third group, according to Floridian Press. Gaetz pointed out that in 2016 Gov. DeSantis – then a congressman – co-sponsored a bill banning the practice, but it died in committee. Hope Florida, started by Casey DeSantis in 2021, tries to help Floridians move off of government assistance by connecting them to a clearing house of other services from nonprofits and faith-based communities. Hope Florida "Navigators" are state employees who work with people to find solutions from the private sector, faith-based communities, and nonprofits to help them use all the local community resources available and reduce the need for the government's help. According to DeSantis, the goal is for Florida to help and then stay "out of the way." A website says Hope Florida has served over 100,000 Floridians since its beginning, specifically helping more than 25,500 participants to "reduce or eliminate reliance on public assistance." In 2023, Hope Florida administrators created a separate nonprofit called the Hope Florida Foundation. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Casey DeSantis' name does not appear on corporate records for the charity. The foundation has yet to release records about their donors or recipients or any state-mandated records about its structure, ethics and oversight. As a nonprofit, the IRS also requires the Hope Florida Foundation to file tax forms that must be made public upon request by members of the public. Reporters from the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau have said they were turned away after making such a request at the Department of Children and Families headquarters in the capital. That's because they didn't exist. Joshua Hay, president of the Hope Florida Foundation, later told Florida's Voice it was 'in the process of creating its relevant tax documents" and "expect(ed) to have the documents available for public inspection within the next 10 days." Harris told lawmakers there was no executive director of the Hope Florida program, which she said uses state employees at many different agencies to help connect those in need with services throughout state government and with nonprofits, including churches, who can provide food, clothing and shelter for those in crisis. Hay is CEO of Indelible Solutions, a Tallahassee-based management consulting firm, Harris said. Other officers listed on the nonprofit's annual report, released Wednesday, are Jake Farmer, Fatima Perez, Tina Vidal-Duart and Stephanie White. Farmer is director of state and local government relations for Walgreens. Perez is a director of state government affairs for Koch Industries. Vidal-Duart is the CEO of CDR Health Care, Inc., based in Miami. White is an adoption attorney in Pensacola. According to its website, Hope Florida is funded by donations from individuals and private businesses and provides financial services to local nonprofit organizations. The group serves as the direct support organization for the Florida Department of Children and Families but accepts donations and grants, gifts, holds, invests, and administers the money under its own name. Gray Rohrer of the USA TODAY Network – Florida Capital Bureau contributed reporting. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Hope Florida $10 million donation at heart of Florida lawmaker battle
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hope Florida's mysterious $10M came from settlement with state's largest Medicaid operator
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — A Florida welfare assistance project spearheaded by first lady Casey DeSantis received a $10 million donation from the state's largest Medicaid managed care operator — part of a $67 million out-of-court settlement involving the company's pharmacy benefit manager. According to a copy of the settlement provided to POLITICO on Wednesday, Centene, which owns Sunshine Health in Florida, agreed to pay the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration $67 million. Of that amount, the agreement directed Centene to contribute $10 million to Hope Florida. The settlement, finalized in September, gave Centene seven days to wire transfer the $10 million directly to the Hope Florida Foundation. 'The Centene Entities' obligation to pay the Hope Florida Donation shall be fully satisfied and extinguished upon completion of the wire transfer deposit of such installment into the account of The Hope Florida Foundation, Inc., as directed by AHCA,' the settlement said. Casey DeSantis launched Hope Florida in 2021 as a welfare assistance program designed to become a clearing house of community-based services that help people become less reliant on taxpayer-funded programs. The state House began to scrutinize the program last week after a legislative analysis noted difficulties in obtaining financial details. A copy of the minutes from an October Hope Florida board meeting detailed the transfer of $10 million by AHCA to the DeSantis-led program, first reported by POLITICO. Amid it all, lawmakers left the state House Health Care Budget Subcommittee with questions on Wednesday. Chair Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) told AHCA during a Wednesday meeting that the transfer of the $10 million should have been deposited into a state bank account. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration is overseen by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and the agency was directed to include Hope Florida as a requirement for Medicaid managed care operators picked to receive more than $165 billion in contracts, serving as the largest procurement process in state history. 'I still can't understand how it is featured so heavily in the state's largest contract, yet I can't get an answer as to exactly how Hope Florida is operating,' Andrade told AHCA Secretary Shevaun Harris during the meeting. 'I still can't get answers about a $10 million transfer of funds that was probably illegal.' In response, Harris said the $10 million went toward providing community-based organizations and the families they serve with the resources necessary to become more self-sufficient. She also scolded Andrade for not supporting a program that helps needy families. 'I don't know why we're here,' Harris said. 'I know there are questions about transparency but I don't think we're aligned with the same goal of helping families. 'It's sad,' Harris said. Harris said the $10 million was not taxpayer funding, although the lawsuit involved Centene's pharmacy benefit manager failing to pass on savings from drug rebates to the states, which Andrade took objection to. "The reference to this not being taxpayer funds, I find offensive," Andrade said. Harris began answering questions after Andrade became frustrated by AHCA Deputy Secretary of Medicaid Brian Meyer declining to answer questions about the $10 million transfer. The model managed care contract created by AHCA required that managed care operators refer Medicaid enrollees to Hope Florida, even offering incentives such as the agency assigning them more enrollees. Meyer told the committee the data-sharing provision in the contract was only to obtain basic information on Medicaid enrollees who have stopped receiving state assistance, but Andrade mentioned the contract also does not include language protecting patient privacy. In response, Meyer said the integration of Hope Florida into the state's Medicaid managed care program, which serves more than 3.5 million people, is ongoing. 'We're just trying to close the loop on the services they received,' Meyer said. 'The idea is to really replace members who are graduating with medicaid with members as an incentive to try and graduate members.' The $10 million AHCA gave Hope Florida was part of a more than $1 billion judgment filed against Centene over a lawsuit involving dozens of states that accused the company's pharmacy benefit manager of pocketing the cash received from prescription drug rebates. The same settlement led California to receive a $215 million out-of-court settlement with Centene. As for Florida's settlement, AHCA has refused to answer questions from POLITICO about the agency's talks with Centene for years. Harris referred Andrade's questions about the $10 million transfer to the Hope Florida Foundation. After reviewing the settlement during the meeting, Andrade said the money transfer was made to be kept hidden from the Legislature. 'It looks like a creative way, without oversight, to send $10 million in taxpayer dollars to Hope Florida,' Andrade said. 'The new contracts appear to have forced Hope Florida to the point where there are typos in the state's largest contract.' Hope Florida is facing scrutiny as the Legislature considers a bill that seeks to etch the DeSantis-led initiative into state law. SB 1144, by state Sen. Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills), is still waiting to be placed on the agenda for a Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services. On Tuesday, Burgess said he has requested the bill to be heard during a meeting next week, but he hasn't received a response from Chair Jay Trumbull (R-Panama City). Burgess said he supports Hope Florida's mission, but he would not comment on the controversy over the $10 million allocation. 'I firmly believe in the policy and I believe in the mission and all of the work that's been done by Hope [Florida] navigators,' Burgess said. 'Aside from all of that, I believe in the policy.' In the House, HB 1327, by state Rep. Anne Gerwig (R-Wellington) is awaiting time before the House budget committee. The health care budget proposed by the House for next year also includes $2.5 million for more than 30 jobs at Florida Department of Children and Families for Hope Florida call takers, including a handful designated for military veterans. Florida's Medicaid program is estimated to cost close to $35 billion in state and federal tax dollars next year to provide coverage to more than 4 million enrollees. The Medicaid managed care program services the majority of those enrollees by offering HMO-style coverage through operators such as Sunshine Health, which is owned by Centene. Harris said during Wednesday's meeting the Hope Florida is one of several expanded benefits offered by the plans, which she said comes at no cost to taxpayers. Meyer said Hope Florida is one small part of AHCA's overall goal of making residents self sufficient. 'I think it's unfortunate we're succumbing to these attacks,' Harris said. After the meeting, AHCA spokesperson Mallory McManus said Andrade does not yet understand the details behind Hope Florida's role in Medicaid. 'It's concerning how little Representative Andrade understands about Medicaid, as demonstrated in his performative committee hearing today," McManus said. "He also purposefully misconstrued the structure and nature of the Hope Florida program, which is shameful. AHCA is proud of our work serving Floridians, particularly in helping people reduce government dependency and achieving economic self-sufficiency.'
