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Statement from Adam Putnam on concealed weapon licensing story

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Please see the following statement from Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam in response to today’s Tampa Bay Times article on the concealed weapon licensing program:

“To be clear, a criminal background investigation was completed on every single application. Upon discovery of this former employee’s negligence in not conducting the further review required on 365 applications, we immediately completed full background checks on those 365 applications, which resulted in 291 revocations. The former employee was both deceitful and negligent, and we immediately launched an investigation and implemented safeguards to ensure this never happens again.”

Setting The Record Straight: Tampa Bay Times Continues Unbalanced Attacks

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The Tampa Bay Times today continued its attacks on Governor Rick Scott and completely ignored the state’s major accomplishments over the past month. The Times also neglected to provide a balanced narrative by including statements from the Governor’s Office on various issues – statements which have been shared with the Times on multiple occasions. We take this opportunity set the record straight.

Tampa Bay Times: “It raises a question: Lately under Scott, how well is Florida working?” 

FACTS: We’re glad they asked. Over the past month, much like he has every day during his past seven years as Governor, Governor Scott has been hard at work for Florida families. The following are links to just some of the great things Governor Scott has accomplished recently. We encourage the Times to take a moment to be reminded of these big wins for Florida families. In addition to these accomplishments, Governor Scott also recently announced that he will be visiting Israel this month to attend the grand opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Gov. Scott: Department of State to Hire Additional Cybersecurity Specialists

Gov. Scott to Secretary of State Pompeo: Focus on Latin America

Gov. Scott to Travel to Puerto Rico Next Week

Gov. Scott: Florida Businesses Created More Than One and a Half Million Jobs Since December 2010

GOV. SCOTT: LOW TAX OPPORTUNITY ZONES IN EVERY COUNTY WILL KEEP FLORIDA’S BOOMING ECONOMY GROWING

GOV. SCOTT: AGREEMENT WITH SEMINOLE TRIBE ENSURES CONTINUED INVESTMENTS FOR FLORIDA FAMILIES 

Gov. Scott: State Funding Accelerates Critical Repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike 

Gov. Scott: Greenway Health Expands Tampa Headquarters Adding More than 100 Jobs 

Gov. Scott: United Technologies Creates 480 Jobs in Palm Beach County, Opens New UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings 

Gov. Scott: Florida Students Lead the Nation in Reading and Mathematics 

Additionally, the Times mentioned several issues in its most recent story without including comment from the Governor’s Office – even though our office has provided comment on several occasions. This unbalanced approach is unfortunate and warrants a reminder on these topics:

ON MENTAL HEALTH BACKGROUND SCREENINGS…

“During the 2018 Legislative Session, and following the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Governor Scott fought tirelessly to develop a comprehensive plan of action so this never happens again. The Governor’s major action plan, which led to the passage of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act (SB 7026) addressed three critical issues: making our schools safer, giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and those seeking to harm themselves or others, and providing key funding for mental health services in Florida’s communities.

“The Clerks of Court in Florida are locally elected and Governor Scott expects them to prioritize their resources to resolve this issue as required by state law. FDLE will continue to identify additional grants and resources to provide even more assistance to the clerks as the Department works to keep Floridians safe.” – McKinley Lewis, Governor Scott’s Press Office

ON DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE PERSONNEL MOVES…

“The Governor’s Office has absolutely no involvement in the hiring, or firing, of these individuals. The Department of Revenue makes personnel decisions for their agency. It’s no surprise that a state agency would seek to hire highly qualified individuals with experience in state policy and state budget development and experience working with the Florida Legislature.” – McKinley Lewis, Governor Scott’s Press Office 

ON FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FUNDING…

“Over the past three years, more than $124 million has been invested in the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) to provide pay increases to recruit and retain correctional officers, improve facilities and fleet, better serve inmates with medical and mental health needs and expand reentry programming. This year, in his Securing Florida’s Future recommended budget, Governor Scott sought to build on these investments with a nearly $169 million increase in funding for FDC.

“The annual budget the Florida Legislature passed this year was lower than the Governor’s recommended budget which has resulted in these temporary funding shortfalls. Governor Scott is confident that Secretary Jones will work with her stakeholders, and members of the legislature, to ensure that this issue is temporary, resolved quickly and handled appropriately. Safety and security remain the Department’s top priority.” – McKinley Lewis, Governor Scott’s Press Office

Additionally, the Governor’s Office confirmed to the Times that Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera personally advocated for this issue to the legislature in meetings with members. He also visited the Senate Chamber.

FROM AHCA ON MEDICAID RETROACTIVE ELIGIBILITY…

“Florida continues to focus on quickly enrolling Florida’s most vulnerable people including children, frail elders, those with disabilities and pregnant women. By enrolling individuals quickly, you ensure better-coordinated fully integrated care, as well as access to preventative services.

“It is categorically false to assert that this change impacts the care of children, seniors or vulnerable Floridians. Claims that patient care and services will be jeopardized are false. Florida’s Medicaid program is operating at the highest level of quality care in its history.”– Mallory McManus, AHCA Communications Director

ICYMI: Tampa Bay Times: Florida to provide Puerto Rico high school diplomas to eligible evacuees

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Florida to provide Puerto Rico high school diplomas to eligible evacuees
Tampa Bay Times
Jeffrey Solochek
January 2, 2018
Puerto Rican teens who evacuated after Hurricane Maria’s devastation can still earn a high school diploma from their home island while completing their work in Florida, the state Department of Education has informed superintendents.
If the students fled the storm, are currently enrolled in a Florida public school and had attained 11th or 12 grade by the time Maria hit, they can pursue this option, K-12 chancellor Hershel Lyons wrote in a late December memo.
…
Education commissioner Pam Stewart reached out to her counterpart in Puerto Rico in November to make this arrangement possible. The state is coordinating with Puerto Rico to get student credits transferred and to get transcripts delivered.
…

CRC Chairman Carlos Beruff in the Tampa Bay Times: “Commission Listens to Citizens”

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Letter to the Editor: Commission Listens to Citizens
Re Tampa Bay Times Editorial, “Key Panel Devolves into Farce”
By Carlos Beruff, Chairman, 2017-2018 Constitution Revision Commission
October 30, 2017
“This Times editorial misrepresents how the Constitution Revision Commission is actively incorporating ideas and proposed constitutional amendments submitted by Floridians. Direct sponsorship of a public proposal is only one of several ways public input is incorporated in the CRC process. To assert that only six public proposal submissions were advanced by the CRC is an intellectually dishonest statement.
“… As we reviewed these public proposals, comments and ideas, it became clear that hundreds of citizens were proposing similar changes to the Florida Constitution.
“For example, nearly 600 public proposals submitted to the CRC were related to the issue of E-Verify. In response, one CRC commissioner recently filed a proposal on the same topic so it can be more thoroughly vetted and considered in the committee process.
“At CRC public hearings held across the state, many Floridians came before the CRC to present their ideas to commissioners. Two of the most popular topics were the restoration of felon rights and repeal of the alien land law. Both issues have been picked up by commissioners who have created proposals reflecting those ideas in the appropriate legal language. …” 
CLICK HERE to read the entire Letter to the Editor by CRC Chairman Carlos Beruff.
 

ICYMI: Tampa Bay Times: A bad Medicaid plan for nursing homes

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By Steve Bahmer
Since the early 1980s, when the state Agency for Health Care Administration conducted its last major overhaul of the Medicaid payment system for nursing homes, the quality of care in Florida nursing homes has vastly improved.
Although there are still exceptions, Florida is no longer home to the flood of nursing home horror stories that Sunshine State residents heard so frequently, and from so many homes, in the early ’80s.
Improved regulatory oversight at AHCA and a payment system that rewarded nursing homes for providing high-quality care, among other factors, combined to slowly move Florida into the top tier of states in terms of nursing home quality.
In 2014, the organization Families for Better Care gave Florida nursing homes an A, one of only 10 states to receive that grade. It rated Florida fifth in the nation in terms of care quality. In its 2015 rankings of the nation’s best nursing homes, U.S. News & World Report listed Florida behind only California and Ohio for the number of 5-star nursing homes in the state.
This may all be about to change.
Earlier this month, AHCA submitted a plan to the governor and the Legislature for a new approach to nursing home Medicaid payments. The plan is intended to establish an equitable payment system that includes incentives for high-quality care, simplifies the payment process, controls costs and makes legislators’ budgeting for Medicaid spending on nursing homes more predictable.
What the plan will actually do is penalize the nursing homes that for the last three decades have invested in delivering the highest quality of care possible, while rewarding homes that have remained at the bottom of the quality barrel.
Under AHCA’s proposal, 143 nursing homes that are rated as 4- or 5-star homes would lose significant funding. Meanwhile, 86 nursing homes that received a 1- or 2-star rating would receive additional funding. In fact, a single nursing home chain would reap $16.5 million of that unearned windfall.
Clearly, this is neither equitable nor fair. Moreover, the proposal does nothing to control Medicaid spending on long-term care, or even to make budgeting meaningfully more predictable. The Legislature decides when to fund a rate increase for nursing homes, something it has not done since 2011, and the current payment system includes caps and limits on payments.
Quality care costs money, and those costs are largely driven by staffing levels — the number of nurses and nursing assistants who are available at any given time to care for a frail senior in a nursing home. The best way to ensure that nursing home residents receive quick, consistent, quality care is to ensure a sufficient number of skilled, caring, long-tenured staff to provide that care.
Under the AHCA proposal, however, nursing homes with the highest staffing levels would lose funding, while those with the lowest staffing would gain dollars.
Nursing home care is not improved, or even sustained, by stripping funding from those that have invested in delivering high quality and shifting it to those that, for whatever reason, have not chosen to make that investment. Despite claims in earlier news reports, the plan does not require that the low performers spend any of their new money on care, nor is there any mechanism in the plan to ensure that quality improves.
AHCA’s proposal is not likely to achieve any of the agency’s stated goals.
It is likely, however, to reverse 30 years of progress in improving quality in the homes that care for Florida’s most vulnerable seniors, and the Legislature simply must reject it.
Steve Bahmer is president and CEO of LeadingAge Florida, a nonprofit statewide association representing the full continuum of care for seniors with members ranging from nursing homes to assisted living facilities to continuing care retirement communities.