/ AGENDA REPORT
DATE: September 28, 2026
TO: City Commission
FROM: Bill McDaniel, City Manager
SUBJECT: Intergovernmental Transfer Program with the State of Florida for Medicaid Managed Care Patients.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Plant City Fire Rescue (PCFR) transports approximately 4,700 patients annually to local hospital emergency rooms, generating approximately $1,400,000 per year in revenue from Medicare, Medicaid, private commercial insurance companies, and individual payers. The transport services are billed and collected by a private contractor, Digitech. Of the total patients transported to the hospital each year, approximately 12% are covered by Medicaid. The average reimbursement for the services provided to Medicaid patients is lower than payments received from Medicare and private health insurance.
In 2016, the State of Florida authorized the creation of a Certified Public Expenditure (CPE) program to provide supplemental payments to publicly owned and operated emergency medical transportation providers for Medicaid fee-for-service patients transported to local hospitals. This program leverages approximately 60% in federal Medicaid reimbursements by allowing the State to certify the public expenditures incurred by the City as the State share. Since the inception of the CPE program in 2017, the City has received supplemental payments totaling $1,108,639.25 to close the gap between costs incurred and revenue received for Medicaid patient transports.
In 2019, the State Legislature authorized expansion of the program to include the Medicaid Managed Care population. The City has participated in the Medicaid Managed Care program annually since 2020 through an agreement with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). To leverage the approximately 60% federal share for the State fiscal year 26/27, the City will make an intergovernmental transfer (IGT) of $275,263.21 to the Agency for Health Care Adminstration (AHCA). In return, six Medicaid Mana...
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