Thursday, November 06, 2003

Medicaid deficit may lead to cuts (Florida)
Gainesville Sun story - "Florida's Medicaid program - which provides such services as health care to poor pregnant women and payments for nursing home stays - is running in the red, and the soaring costs threaten to blow a hole in next year's state budget. The news that there's a mounting deficit in the $12.5 billion program was made official this week. ... Bob Sharpe, the director of Florida's Medicaid office, said a growing problem is that one in three Medicaid patients are receiving drugs to treat mental health ailments. These drugs, however, are not covered by monthly drug restrictions previously imposed by state lawmakers."