By Deann Mullins
When we as individuals adjust our budgets, we prioritize. For example, we may start with dining out less often before we decide to stop buying our blood pressure medicine. The financial challenges our state faces are great. Our state leaders must confront, head-on, a breathtaking $2.3 billion revenue shortfall in this year's budget, not to mention the more than $4.5 billion projected deficit for next year.
Cutting the budget is inevitable, but we do have a choice about where to tighten our belts. The Florida Legislature has proposed to take aim at further harming our struggling health care system by instituting drastic cuts that would impact everything from hospice care to nursing home care and access to Medicaid prescription drugs. A bill is taking aim at pharmacist reimbursement that includes $48 million in budget cuts to the Medicaid pharmacy program.
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