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Lawmakers embrace gift ban

Citrus' state legislators vote to outlaw freebies from lobbyists. They also cautiously back Medicaid reform.

By ELENA LESLEY
Published December 13, 2005

When Nancy Argenziano attends lobbyist functions, she shies away from pricey hors d'oeuvres and circulating spirits. Sometimes she'll have an iced tea, her one concession.

"Even in the poorest times of my life, I've never needed someone to buy me a meal," said the state senator for District 3. "It feels inappropriate to accept gifts."

Argenziano and Citrus County's two other state lawmakers, Rep. Charles Dean and Sen. Mike Fasano, voted last week to ban all gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers.

The Florida Legislature gathered for a special session to discuss proposed reforms to Medicaid. While lawmakers eventually took a vote on the issue - passing a pilot project for transferring Medicaid recipients to managed care programs - the gift ban took center stage for much of the session.

"Perception is everything," Fasano said. "This (ban) sends the message to constituents that we're not for sale."

Critics of the measure say lobbyists will easily bypass its restrictions. There are a variety of ways to curry favor with politicians.

"It's true that someone will always find a loophole," said Fasano, who strongly supported the legislation. "But when they do, we'll come back and address it."

Dean said he had never witnessed abuses of the favors afforded politicians, but Argenziano called cozy relationships between lawmakers and lobbyists "one of the saddest parts of being a senator."

"You shouldn't be wined and dined by someone you have to regulate," she said.

Even if it doesn't influence you, she said, it looks bad.

"Maybe the chicken dinner won't buy your vote," Argenziano said. "But it makes the (public) perception worse."

Argenziano, Dean and Fasano - all Republicans - also voted for the Medicaid reform bill last week, though each expressed reservations.

An initial version of the bill would have turned over Medicaid recipients statewide to managed-care companies, but the amended version that passed will have a much smaller impact. It creates a two-year test run of the program in Duval and Broward counties.

"I'm a big fan of pilot projects," Fasano said. "Nothing will happen outside of these two counties without further legislative approval."

Argenziano voted for the pilot project, even though she had fought against privatizing Medicaid in the past. She said she realized the state must find a way to curb spending on its 2.2-million Medicaid recipients, but she's not sure this is it.

"I don't care for HMOs (health maintenance organizations)," she said. "They used to be in the business of preventative medicine, but now I think they prevent you from getting any medicine."

Marybeth Nayfield, administrator of the Citrus County Health Department, said she was concerned managed-care programs would mean a decline in the quality of services patients receive.

"The only way to cut costs is to limit some services," she said. "I don't see any money (currently) being wasted here."

Though Fasano said he would adopt a wait-and-see attitude, he said there were probably some areas where costs could be reduced. He said some HMOs had programs that could educate patients in prevention, reducing the risk of future hospitalizations.

"No one is being taken off or having their services reduced," he said. As far as the project goes, "we'll soon find out if it works or not."

[Last modified December 13, 2005, 01:30:24]