BROWARD COUNTY, FLA - Broward County Commissioners are expected to approve a Medicaid settlement agreement from the Broward Health Hospital District in the amount of $495,697. The item on Tuesday’s agenda brings to a close complex litigation over a controversial change in Medicaid billings for Florida counties.
It began last year with the passage of legislation that required counties to pay disputed or unpaid Medicaid bills or face withholding of state revenues for the costs. The backlogs of disputed bills related to inpatient hospitalization and nursing home stays.
In August of last year, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) billed Broward County nearly $38 million for disputed Medicaid claims from 2001 through 2012. Broward joined other counties in litigation challenging the new law.
The amount of Medicaid payments changed time and time again as Broward County demanded to see invoices and evidence that the amount was accurate.
When presented with a certified invoice for $15.5 million, the Broward Commission directed the county attorney to initiate legal proceedings before the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings to contest the AHCA certified amount.
Vice Mayor Barbara Sharief testified at those hearings on behalf of Broward County. “We have successfully disputed millions of dollars in erroneous bills generated by an admittedly broken system,” said Sharief at the April hearing.
Broward County prevailed, agreeing to a settlement amount of $4 million. The final savings to taxpayers, inclusive of the hospital districts, totaled $11.5 million.
Broward County’s efforts were recognized by the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), who presented Vice Mayor Sharief with the Presidential Advocacy Award in June. “It is public servants like Vice Mayor Sharief that ensure our local communities have the authority to respond to the demands of their citizens,” said FAC Executive Director Chris Holley, “Vice Mayor Sharief’s support in our efforts to create an equitable and fair solution to Medicaid cost share was essential in getting rid of the cumbersome and erroneous billing system that has been in place for years.”
