LIP funding for FL hospitals may drop according to all these articles. Who knows the effect in Lake County?

Tavares, FL Feb. 12, 2015

Here are several articles from outside Lake County that were all posted this
week explaining the loss of "LIP" funding to Florida hospitals.

Thus the issue is how will this affect the local Lake County hospitals and
uses of funds from the North Lake County Hospital District (NLCHD). The
status of LIP funding is important since NLCHD funds are used as matches to
get LIP funds in a multiplier effect. We are talking about several million
dollars.

The NLCHD Board should review and monitor this - I am sure that Waterman and
Leesburg hospitals are doing so.

Vance

Source: FAC - Florida Association of Counties
Tampa Bay Times
State, feds negotiate over looming $1.3 billion health care budget shortfall
The state continued negotiations with the federal government on Wednesday in
an effort to preserve funding for hospitals that treat large numbers of poor
and uninsured patients. Florida had previously relied on a pot of money
known as the Low Income Pool, or LIP. But the $2.2 billion program is
scheduled to expire later this year, under an agreement between the state
and federal government. On Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, or CMS, said it "will not extend Florida's Low Income Pool in its
current form beyond June 30," according to a statement issued by the agency.

Gainesville Sun
Florida hospitals serving uninsured to take $1.3 billion hit
The state is facing a $1.3 billion hole in next year's health care budget
when the federal government stops paying hospitals with a large number of
uninsured patients, a practice that was set to end as part of the Medicaid
expansion that the Florida Legislature has refused to implement. The federal
government's Medicaid chief said that there would be no more waivers granted
to extend the program, known as the low-income pool (LIP), when responding
to a question during the Associated Industries of Florida's Health Care
Affordability Summit in Orlando Tuesday, Health News Florida reported.

Sarasota Herald Tribune
SMH frets over low-income fund
Officials from Sarasota Memorial and other area hospitals remain hopeful
that federal funding to treat uninsured and underinsured residents will
somehow continue, despite an announcement Tuesday that $2.2 billion
allocated for Florida health care providers will end in June. "Losing these
funds has the potential to create a significant budget shortfall for the
state Legislature and public hospitals to work out," said Bill Woeltjen,
Sarasota Memorial's chief financial officer. Sarasota Memorial receives
$12.2 million annually from the "low-income pool" program that offsets the
hospital's costs for treating uninsured or underinsured residents.

Naples Daily News
Low Income Pool for hospitals could be drying up
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - State GOP lawmakers have called out President Obama's
administration for playing a game of chicken over reimbursement for charity
care provided by Florida hospitals. At a health care affordability summit in
Orlando, top Medicaid official Eliot Fishman told reporters that funding to
Florida from the federal government's Low Income Pool, or LIP, wouldn't
continue past June 30. Republican lawmakers suggested the feds are using
the threat of pulling the LIP money to get Florida to go along with Medicaid
expansion under the Affordable Care Act - something the House, at least,
won't agree to.

Tampa Bay Times
Editorial: Avoid crisis and take Medicaid money
A top official from the federal agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid
ruffled Republican legislators and exposed a big hole in the governor's
proposed budget. That should prod lawmakers to drop their partisan
opposition to the Affordable Care Act and accept billions in federal
Medicaid expansion money to cover the uninsured and avoid a financial crisis
for Tampa General and other hospitals. Gov. Rick Scott should be the only
one surprised that the Obama administration will not keep sending more than
$1 billion to Florida to help cover hospital costs for the poor and
uninsured.