Grimsley asked to deal with critical issue for Florida

State Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid, is being asked to take on some difficult, but highly important work. She's been asked to lead reform on Medicaid. We hope she takes on this sacred cow, does what's necessary, saves money and helps people in the process.

How that reform is undertaken is yet to be decided. What is known is that 38 percent of Florida's $69 billion budget is consumed by health and human services. Under one plan that would shift Medicare users into managed care networks or plans, the savings would be $58.7 million. That's a lot of money, but not even close to the savings that are necessary. And how will it affect Medicare recipients?

Grimsley made an excellent point when asked about this, that on top of any changes introduced, fraud is a huge problem and costs hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars. Any plan that doesn't address that is just spinning its wheels. We agree.

Strong oversight must be funded to make sure that storefront clinics throughout the state are not billing Medicare for all kinds of services that aren't even offered. Lists of Medicare recipients names are bought and sold to all kinds of criminals, who start billing the state for imaginary goods and services. Recently several people were arrested in the Miami area for this. There's no doubt that this kind of fraud is rampant.

Clearly reform of Medicare and other services is needed. What must not happen is that this become some partisan battle. All that matters here is that Floridians are protected, not insurance companies or health care facilities. Too often our politicians will only consider what benefits special interests that open fat wallets during the campaign season. This is way too important for that.

Grimsley must stand strong against interests she's been cozy with, and protect the population who elected her. In Highlands County, with its large senior citizen population, she must look out for their interests.

We wish her luck and know the job will be tough. There's nothing more important for the entire state that Grimsley has worked on since being elected. She needs input and guidance from all sides of this issue.