Gov. Rick Scott‘s blue-ribbon healthcare and hospital commission is meeting in two weeks but the Governor’s Office is quiet on the appointments.
Scott created the commission via executive order last week. The order doesn’t mention how many members would be on the commission or if any of them would be lawmakers but it did note that the governor would appoint the executive director and that it would be staffed by the Agency for Health Care Administration.
Though details haven’t been released, the Governor’s Office clearly is working on the issue. In a May 8 letter to safety-net hospital providers, the governor asks the hospitals by May 22 to prepare at least three scenarios in how $3.7 billion in profits could be shared among safety-net hospitals, including Shands Jacksonville. He asks that the information be submitted on May 22 because the commission will meet on May 26.
Three senators — Eleanor Sobel, Rene Garcia and Alan Hays — have expressed an interest in serving on the board and there has been interest among the lobbying corps to be appointed to the blue-ribbon panel.
Scott’s office has reached out to the for-profit hospital industry requesting that they provide recommendations on who could serve on the commission. The Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida said in a release that it would “welcome seats at the commission table,” given the role the hospitals play in the state’s healthcare delivery system.
The Florida Chamber and National Federation of Independent Business Florida also have had conversations with the Governor’s Office about serving on the commission.
