Reduced Health Care Costs

During Governor Chiles' eight years in office, the health care picture in Florida changed dramatically. In 1990, just 150,000 people were in small group markets, a number that jumped to 1.3 million by 1997.

The number of enrollees in the Medicaid managed care programs grew dramatically, from 100,000 in 1990 to 1 million in 1997. The success of Florida's MediPass program is particularly noteworthy. This program, which did not exist in 1990, served 600,000 Medicaid enrollees in 1997.

Governor Chiles worked to bring quality and affordable health care to consumers while at the same time reducing costs. The rate of Medicaid expenditure growth dropped to an all-time low of 2.3 percent in 1997, down from 25.6 percent in 1990. In 1990, projected Medicaid expenditures for the fiscal year 1996-97 were estimated at $8.4 billion to serve 1.3 million enrollees. Actual expenditures for 1996-97 were $6.3 billion serving 1.5 million enrollees.

Also under the Chiles/MacKay administration, Florida has become more vigilant in safeguarding residents against questionable practitioners and aggressively pursuing recovery of fraudulent Medicaid claims. In 1990, 11 Emergency Suspension Orders (ESOs) were issued against practitioners, while 98 ESOs were issued in 1997. Florida's third party liability program has saved $800 million in Medicaid claims costs, while an additional $47.6 million has been filed in new estate Medicaid recovery claims.