Tis the season for cuts. And this seems to be the sentiment of lawmakers of late, as the legislative session begins Tuesday.
Sadly those working in health care and social services have been severely neglected in terms of funding. And as more state departments get the big slash, the people who benefit from the services they offer get an even shorter end of the stick.
Apparently there is a list of 18,000 people waiting for services, according to the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.
As a result, budget reductions are also impacting Florida hospitals in a negative way.
Now hospitals are getting meager reimbursement rates for offering services to Medicaid patients and the buck is now being passed to patients with health insurance.
But the domino effect doesn’t end there.
According to an article recently published in the Tallahassee Democrat, Bruce Rueben, president of the Florida Hospital Association, was quoted saying, “Businesses are either dropping insurance or reducing the amount of coverage and shifting the costs to workers,” he said.
When did things become so bad that health care packages have to be reduced? Did the nature or amount of work that employees provide get cut too? No, so why skimp employees on benefits they deserve?
By the time legislature is finished, the budget will be so chopped and screwed nothing will be left. It’s a wonder how agencies and other departments will be able to weather the difficulty of working with pennies. But my only hope is that legislators have some mercy on the people and cut the butter with a hot knife.
Yewande Addie for the Editorial Board.