DeSantis says Hope Florida didn’t get Medicaid money. Experts question state’s logic

The Miami Herald ^ | April 25, 2025 | Lawrence Mower and Alexandra Glorioso

[Miami Rebel]

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration this week released its most detailed explanation to date on its legal reasoning behind diverting $10 million in Medicaid settlement money to the Hope Florida Foundation. In short, only $57 million of a $67 million legal settlement Florida made with the Medicaid contractor Centene was considered “potential Medicaid-related damages to the State,” Agency for Health Care Administration General Counsel Andrew Sheeran wrote to lawmakers on Tuesday. That meant that Centene could be directed to divert the remaining $10 million to the Hope Florida charity, Sheeran wrote. The charity was created by DeSantis’ administration to support the first lady’s Hope Florida initiative, which aims to get Floridians off government assistance, including Medicaid. “It totally debunks the bogus media narratives that were out there,” DeSantis said Thursday of the agency’s letter. But Medicaid experts questioned the logic in Sheeran’s memo and said all the money should be owed to the state and federal taxpayers. It also appeared to be at odds with a move by the DeSantis administration to reimburse the federal government based on the full $67 million amount. All of it is taxpayer money, according to Scott Newton, a former FBI agent and federal prosecutor with decades of experience investigating, prosecuting and defending health care fraud.

House Republicans have questioned the legality of the state’s $67 million settlement with Centene, reached in October after three years of negotiations. Florida was among more than 20 states to settle with the company, which was found to have overbilled Medicaid systems for prescription drugs. Unlike nearly every other state, Florida kept the settlement secret until Republican lawmakers began asking this month about the source of Hope Florida Foundation’s $10 million donation.

Sheeran wrote to lawmakers that the transaction was neither “illegal” nor “illicit"....

---

TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: concerntroll; concerntrolling; desantis; florida

[Miami Rebel]

A Herald reader added this comment:

"Wow, what should alarm everyone on top.of the DeSantis stealing from tax payers, is that the State way of negotiating is to have the thief tell it how much much it stole and providing a little more so the State doesn't do their own investigation and audit."

I couldn't agree more. This is massively disappointing to Florida Republicans and I think it'll destroy any political future for either DeSantis.

[BobL]

“I couldn’t agree more. This is massively disappointing to Florida Republicans and I think it’ll destroy any political future for either DeSantis.”

Agree, and INCREDIBLE that the people who got DeSantis this far, to this level, would let him SCREW UP to this extent. My only thought is that DeSantis may have been starting to go rouge on them, so they had to take him out (politically, of course).

[b4me]

keep trying to tip-toe around desantis, LOL such a self-serving couple, yet so many seem to be snowed by him and wife.