Federal government throws up roadblock to Florida’s Medicaid reform

Federal health officials want changes to be made to the Medicaid experiment that has put private managed-care companies in charge of covering thousands of patients in Northeast Florida.

In a letter last week, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told state officials that it wouldn’t extend the program through an expedited process, as Florida had sought. Instead, the agency said it wanted to undertake a more rigorous review that would take into account “issues that have been raised in reviews” of the program.

The letter didn’t specify what issues federal officials want to address. While internal reviews have painted a positive picture of the program, it has come under fire from critics and some outside analysts.