In its role as the voice of the Florida home care provider community, HCAF contacted the 10 Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) health plans to express concerns about the 2022-23 state budget that will implement a $15 minimum wage for Medicaid workers. The budget was approved by Governor DeSantis on June 2, and it will go into effect on July 1.

Medicaid workers must earn $15 an hour by October 1, 2022, according to the budget; however, the health plans have until January 1, 2023, to amend provider contracts to pass along the additional funds. In letters to the health plans and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), Executive Director Bobby Lolley, RN, pointed out that if health plans do not modify their contracts in a timely manner, providers may be forced to pay $15 per hour to employees without being reimbursed for additional payroll costs. HCAF advised health plans to amend contracts with providers as soon as possible, and to schedule reimbursement changes by October 1, 2022, so that funds could be distributed by that date.

Now that the budget has been adopted, AHCA will need to determine how the additional funds will be distributed to the plans and forwarded to providers. HCAF's policy team will continue to lobby AHCA leadership to ensure providers get the additional funding by October 1. In the meantime, providers should contact their Medicaid health plan(s) immediately to request an expedited amendment process.

Subscribe to provider updates to stay up-to-date on this and other issues. Please direct questions or concerns to Kyle Simon, Director of Government Affairs and Communications, at ksimon@homecarefla.org.