This year’s legislative session proceeded under the banner of “Live Healthy,” the name given to four priority initiatives to help grow Florida’s health care workforce, improve access and foster innovation.
So it’s not surprising that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ $116.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2024-25, signed Wednesday in Tampa, leans heavily in that direction.
This includes $456.5 million to support maternal and child health, $442 million for behavioral health services, $377.5 million for services provided to individuals with special abilities, and $232 million for cancer research.
But the $950 million cut through item-line vetoes included several health-related programs.
RELATED: Governor DeSantis cuts $1 billion to bring budget to $116.5 billion
Here’s a rundown of the big winners and losers in this year’s spending plans.
Nursing HomesFlorida nursing homes are preparing for the recently approved federal mandate of 3.48 hours of direct care each day, and are facing ongoing staffing shortages in addition to the financial burden that comes with it.
Governor DeSantis increased Medicaid funding by 8 percent to $247.8 million to help nursing homes meet the demand for qualified caregivers, which the Florida Healthcare Association called a “meaningful investment” to prepare for “significant growth in Florida’s elderly population over the next decade.”
The state is also providing $100 million to preparation institutions, programs, employers and learners through the Nursing Education Incentives (PIPELINE) to encourage excellence in nursing education programs.
Another $30 million will go to the Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) fund to encourage collaboration between nursing education programs and health care partners.
Women’s and Children’s Health: budget This includes support for Florida KidCare, improving access to obstetric care for pregnant women and working with children with developmental delays up to 36 months of age.
Florida KidCare administers four government-sponsored insurance programs for children, including Medicaid.
Behavioral Health: The funding will be used to improve access to mobile-enabled services, increase fees for mental health providers, provide direct services, expand the behavioral health workforce, and support collaboration between primary care and behavioral health.
cancerGovernor DeSantis allocated $60 million to the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund, a 200% increase to support cancer research. The budget also continues to provide $127.5 million for the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program.
Opioids: The budget reflects the state’s priorities for the care and recovery of people with opioid use disorder, including more than $179.4 million from the national opioid settlement agreement to the Opioid Recovery Office, an accredited graduate medical education program to increase the number of psychiatry trainees, and other efforts to support education and treatment and prevention for people with substance use disorders.
Additionally, $31.8 million from the settlement will be donated to the state’s Coordinated Opioid Recovery (CORE) Network, which provides rescue response to assist with immediate treatment, stabilization and evaluation to determine the best treatment and long-term support.
Another $18 million will go to three programs that support law enforcement efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, including the illegal trafficking and sale of fentanyl.
Alzheimer’s disease: The budget includes a $6 million increase to support older adults as part of the Alzheimer’s Initiative, bringing the total to $69.1 million, which provides support to caregivers and individuals diagnosed with or suspected of having Alzheimer’s disease and other related memory disorders.
Additionally, the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Center of Excellence will receive an additional $2 million in funding.
Additionally, an additional $11 million ($115 million in total) will be provided to the Senior Community Care and Senior Home Care programs to help at-risk seniors with out-of-home care needs. Services include adult day care, caregiver respite, home meal delivery and minor home modifications.
Unique abilities: The Live Healthy bill includes $38.4 million to enroll eligible individuals in a new voluntary pilot program that provides wraparound services to individuals with disabilities through a managed care service delivery model. It also provides $55.7 million for pre-enrollment and $64.8 million to enroll individuals in at-risk situations. Overall, it supports more than $2.2 billion for iBudget waiver services through the Agency for People with Disabilities.
Veterans: An additional $4.9 million Facilities and capital improvements to the state’s veterans nursing homes. The budget also includes $10 million to build a ninth home in Collier County following federal grant approval.
Veto: The governor’s line-item veto cut a combined $5.5 million in funding for Jacksonville’s two nursing programs, as well as a combined total of about $10 million requested by the Boys & Girls Club and the University of South Florida for opioid education programs.
- USF’s schools of nursing and behavioral and community sciences have requested $3.9 million in funding for a collaborative project aimed at reducing opioid use statewide and helping counties better plan for and respond to opioid overdoses that do occur.
- The governor revoked $6.4 million in funding for a menstrual hygiene grant program that would have provided free pads and tampons to school children. Democratic state Assemblywoman Anna Eskamani said she was surprised by the veto because the pilot program had overwhelming bipartisan support.
- The Boys & Girls Clubs of Florida did not receive $4.6 million to focus on prescription drug abuse and increase opioid awareness and prevention, money that would have been distributed to sites around the state.
- Florida State University at Jacksonville was denied $2.8 million for “renovating, remodeling and expanding” its nursing program facilities, and Jacksonville University’s GROW Florida Nursing Program was denied $2.9 million for “workforce development” focused on psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care.
- Two projects for Ronald McDonald House, which houses families of hospitalized children being treated at nearby medical facilities, were excluded from the final budget: one requested $1 million to build a home at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, and the other requested $1 million to support the demolition and construction of existing space as part of an expansion of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa.
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