Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

The Hope Florida scandal shows that the state’s priorities have to change | Column

tampabay.com · 15h · first reportShare

Given today’s political climate, I thought I had just about run out of outrage. But the multimillion-dollar Hope Florida scandal has renewed my capacity for it. Thanks to a grand jury report and good journalism, we know that $10 million from Florida’s Medicaid overbilling settlement didn’t go where you might reasonably expect: to the people who rely on Medicaid. Instead, most of it ultimately went toward the political fight against recreational marijuana, a diversion of funds that involved the Hope Florida Foundation and a political committee controlled by James Uthmeier, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ then chief of staff and current attorney general. I’m not going to dwell on all the machinations that led to this $8.5 million windfall for political activities. I’ll leave that to the forensic accountants — and voters. But what really sent my outrage meter soaring, even by Florida standards, was when I looked at the Medicaid fiasco alongside other examples of Florida’s children, families and elderl