Countering DeSantis, $10M Hope Florida donation came from Medicaid, draft shows

[Zorro]

Last edited Wed Apr 23, 2025, 12:36 PM - Edit history (1)

The $10 million that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration diverted to a state-created charity last year consisted of Medicaid dollars owed to state and federal taxpayers, contrary to what the governor and other officials have publicly asserted.

Three years ago, lawyers working with the state drew up a settlement agreement that said Florida’s largest Medicaid contractor, Centene, overbilled taxpayers $67,048,611 for medications, according to a copy of a draft agreement obtained by the Times/Herald.

That’s the exact amount DeSantis officials settled on with Centene last year. But instead of returning all $67 million to state and federal coffers, they sent $10 million of it to the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity overseen by first lady Casey DeSantis.

The money was then sent to two nonprofit organizations that aren’t required to report how they spend their funds. Those “dark money” groups later gave $8.5 million to a political committee overseen by DeSantis’ chief of staff in a series of transactions that some Republican lawmakers believe were illegal. How Medicaid is allocated, which pays for health care services for the poor, is highly regulated.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2025/04/22/desantis-casey-medicaid-settlement-hope-charity-andrade/

Curiouser and curiouser...from the way I'm reading this article is that the entire $67M should have gone to Medicaid but $10M was carved out and provided to Hope Florida, which then dispensed those funds to groups that used the money to buy ads opposing the pro-marijuana and pro-abortion amendment initiatives. Using public funds for partisan political purposes sure seems illegal to me.

[tanyev]

1. What. The. Hell?

[badhair77]

2. My reaction, too

[Squaredeal]

3. That's Florida for you.

[Zorro]

4. IMO Florida Panhandle Republicans are raising this issue

to preemptively tar Casey DeSantis' reputation if -- as rumored -- she decides to run for governor and extend her husband's continued political control in Tallahassee.

These Panhandle Republicans aren't saints, though -- they're just wanting to smooth the way for MAGA nutjobs like Byron Donalds or Wilton Simpson to get the nomination for governor in the next election.

[Eugene]

5. DeSantis faces growing storm over Hope Florida controversy

DeSantis faces growing storm over Hope Florida controversy (The Hill)

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that Casey DeSantis launched Hope Florida, a community-based initiative that is distinct from the Hope Florida Foundation, which helps promote the initiative.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is facing growing backlash in his state over allegations involving an organization linked to his wife.

The controversy concerns a $10 million payment to the Hope Florida Foundation, which is tied to first lady Casey DeSantis’s welfare assistance program Hope Florida and has led to criticism from some state House Republicans. Critics argue this money was inappropriately used to help campaign against a ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state last November.

That money, critics say, was part of a settlement agreement involving the state’s largest Medicaid contractor, Centene. According to them, a chunk of that settlement, all of which was intended to be returned to state and federal coffers, was sent to the Hope Florida Foundation and eventually ended up in the hands of political groups that campaigned against the ballot measure, which Gov. DeSantis was also opposed to.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5261542-florida-gov-ron-desantis-hope-florida-scandal/