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Mayor Brown Goes Over Gov. Scott's Head For Hospital Funding Fix

UF Health
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UF Health

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown is asking the feds to bypass Tallahassee and work directly with the city to keep the UF Health Jacksonville open.

The hospital receives around $95 million a year from a federal program called LIP that covers uninsured, low-income patients. The LIP program is set to expire at the end of June.

In a letter Wednesday to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, Brown requested a meeting “as quickly as possible” to find an innovative solution.

READ: Mayor Brown's letter to Secretary Burwell.

Florida Governor Rick Scott recently met with Burwell to request a LIP extension, but he was unsuccessful. The federal government wants Florida to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act — something Scott and the Florida House of Representatives refuse to do.

Peter Haden is an award-winning investigative reporter and photographer currently working with The Center for Investigative Reporting. His stories are featured in media outlets around the world including NPR, CNN en Español, ECTV Ukraine, USA Today, Qatar Gulf Times, and the Malaysia Star.