Post by Logan on Feb 14, 2016 3:29:07 GMT -6
Surgeon general faces tough questions on children's health program
TALLAHASSEE - When Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong goes before a Senate committee Tuesday for a confirmation hearing, two members of the panel will be waiting with questions about thousands of sick kids who were dropped from the Children's Medical Services program last year.
Armstrong oversees the state Department of Health, which came under fire after changing its eligibility screening process for the Children's Medical Services Network. The program provides services to children with “chronic and serious” medical conditions.
Last month, Armstrong told the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet that 13,074 children had “transitioned” out of the program in 2015 because they did not meet the clinical eligibility criteria. He said the Department of Health had worked with those families to ensure that the children got the same standard of care in Medicaid managed-care plans.
But now, Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Chairman Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, wants to know why the department hasn't told the families that their kids could be rescreened and perhaps readmitted to Children's Medical Services.
Read more: www.heraldtribune.com/article/20160213/ARTICLE/160219830/2416/NEWS?Title=Surgeon-general-faces-tough-questions-on-children-s-health-program
TALLAHASSEE - When Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong goes before a Senate committee Tuesday for a confirmation hearing, two members of the panel will be waiting with questions about thousands of sick kids who were dropped from the Children's Medical Services program last year.
Armstrong oversees the state Department of Health, which came under fire after changing its eligibility screening process for the Children's Medical Services Network. The program provides services to children with “chronic and serious” medical conditions.
Last month, Armstrong told the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet that 13,074 children had “transitioned” out of the program in 2015 because they did not meet the clinical eligibility criteria. He said the Department of Health had worked with those families to ensure that the children got the same standard of care in Medicaid managed-care plans.
But now, Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Chairman Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, wants to know why the department hasn't told the families that their kids could be rescreened and perhaps readmitted to Children's Medical Services.
Read more: www.heraldtribune.com/article/20160213/ARTICLE/160219830/2416/NEWS?Title=Surgeon-general-faces-tough-questions-on-children-s-health-program