In late April, Florida Medicaid officials announced the awarding of Medicaid contracts, worth up to $90 billion dollars, to five for-profit managed care plans, excluding several other companies, including Positive Healthcare (PHC), the only non-profit healthcare provider that offers insurance coverage for the critical, sensitive healthcare needs of those living with HIV. As a result of the initial decision, several of the denied agencies, including PHC, filed formal protests with Florida’s Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA), which manages the state’s Medicaid program, all challenging the state’s decision, citing severe defects in the RFP and decision-making process. Following the submitted protests, state Medicaid officials met with each of the denied agencies, and subsequently have provided settlements with a select list of the for-profit providers, while continuing to shut out PHC, the only non-profit agency whose focus is on providing care to thousands of clients living with HIV in Florida, that have relied on this critical coverage to get the necessary care they need, by the doctors of their choice, to live a healthy life.
While Scott and his cronies continue to play “business as usual” politics, the 2,000 HIV patients currently covered by PHC have become vulnerable to maintaining the care they critically need to stay alive, as they will be forced to choose for-profit companies that don’t cover the doctors they have come to rely on and trust for over a decade of quality, life-saving care. AHF and the numerous community supporters across the state that have come out in support of PHC, implore Governor Scott to understand that one choice is no choice and to put people first and not big for-profit businesses and give this vulnerable population a choice.
Scott’s irresponsible actions and lack of transparency occurs while the State of Florida, and specifically Miami-Dade and Broward counties, continue to rise as the nation’s epicenter of the HIV epidemic. PHC, currently offers coverage to those living with HIV in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, which rank #1 and #2, nationally for reported cases of new HIV diagnosis.
The facts about HIV in Florida:
- Nearly 5,000 people in Florida were infected with HIV in 2016 alone, which means one out of every eight new HIV infections in the United States occurred in Florida.
- South Florida leads the nation in new HIV diagnoses at 38.7 new infections per every 100,000 people. In contrast, the overall rate in the United States is 12.3 new infections per every 100,000 people.
- Nearly 136,000 Floridians are estimated to be living with HIV, but one in six is still not aware of his or her HIV-positive status.
- More than 30,000 Floridians currently living with HIV are not receiving care for their infection.
“If we are to address the continual rise in individuals newly diagnosed with HIV, it is critical that Gov. Scott and all public servants, guarantee that everyone is at the table to ensure the necessary care is provided for those living with HIV,” stated Michael Kahane, AHF Southern Bureau Chief. “As the leading non-profit agency addressing the HIV epidemic across this nation, our primary focus is on quality patient care and not profit. All who are living with a chronic illness, like HIV, have the undeniable right to choose the medical provider that they trust, that provides the care that they need and the insurance coverage to sustain this care.”