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Homan bows to county's health revision and drops bill

By BILL VARIAN
Published January 19, 2005

TAMPA - State Rep. Ed Homan has withdrawn a bill that Hillsborough officials said would throw the county's indigent health care plan into upheaval amid their own attempts to revamp it.

Homan's bill would have required the county to open the program to bidding from new medical providers. It also would have allowed hospitals outside the program to ship poor patients to hospitals that are part of the network.

The bill was requested by University Community Hospital, which said it treats increasing numbers of health plan participants without getting paid. Homan is on staff at the hospital as an orthopedic surgeon.

County officials assured Homan they plan to restructure the way the plan works in response to rising costs. Afterward, they plan to seek bids from interested medical providers, including UCH.

Homan said he decided to withdraw the bill "after I learned the current situation of the Hillsborough County health plan, that they were planning, unbeknownst to me, a redo of the program because they are losing money and can't seem to stem the flow.

"If I had known about that ahead of time, I would have told the hospital that it doesn't make sense to do this right now," he said.

County officials expressed relief that they will be able to rejigger the program unfettered. In a letter to UCH officials last week, County Administrator Pat Bean said she expects new bids to be solicited no later than October 2006.

"We are, of course, very appreciative of Rep. Homan's time," said county public affairs officer Edith Stewart. "He did invest an enormous amount of time to understand this."

Both Homan and Stewart noted that Gov. Jeb Bush also proposes to overhaul how the state doles out Medicaid in the face of rising costs and demands for coverage.

Hillsborough's indigent health care plan provides a sort of low-level medical insurance to people too poor to afford private coverage or who do not qualify for other government programs, such as Medicaid.

It typically provides a safety net for an enrollment that hovers around 15,000 people, sometimes more, at cost of nearly $100-million annually. A half-cent sales tax approved by voters pays for the program.

An overhaul is likely to be closely tied to what the state opts to do with Medicaid coverage.

Health plan members are currently served by networks of medical providers, including such hospitals as Tampa General and St. Joseph's. UCH has previously declined to get involved because of low demand.

But Homan said changing demographics have pushed more people who are likely to be enrolled into the program to areas near UCH.

[Last modified January 19, 2005, 00:32:23]