Florida Gov. Rick Scott has said he will drop his lawsuit against the Obama administration now that HHS has agreed to partially fund Florida's Low Income Pool program, according to the Washington Times.
The governor's lawsuit against the government alleges federal regulators attempted to unconstitutionally force Florida to expand Medicaid by withholding LIP program funding. Florida Attorney General Pamela Jo Bondi and the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration joined Gov. Scott in filing the lawsuit against CMS, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of CMS.
Last month, CMS agreed to provide Florida with $1 billion for its LIP program for the fiscal year that begins July 1, down from the nearly $2.2 billion it provided in the past. In the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2016, federal funding for the program will drop to approximately $600 million.
Even after the tentative deal was reached last month, Gov. Scott still refused to drop the lawsuit, as he wanted an affirmative decision regarding the funding. However, a letter from Vikki Wachino, acting director of CMS' Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, to Justin Senior, deputy secretary for Medicaid at FAHCA, memorializing the discussions about extending the LIP program funding was enough to get Gov. Scott to withdraw his lawsuit.
"Florida saw a tremendous win for low income families this week when the Obama administration finally agreed to continue funding part of Florida's Low Income Pool program even though our state did not expand Obamacare," Gov. Scott said in a statement, according to the Palm Beach Post. "Because of this great victory, we have decided to dismiss our lawsuit against the Obama administration for attempting to coerce Florida into expanding Obamacare."
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