FYI Miami: April 18, 2024

Below are some of the FYIs in this week’s edition. The entire content of this week’s FYIs and Insider sections is available by subscription only. To subscribe click here.

SHOW US THE MONEY: The mayor’s office would compile a comprehensive report on the total of state and federal funding that the administration has secured since 2020 under a resolution by Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins that the county’s Chairman’s Policy Council passed unanimously last week. Commissioner Raquel Regalado said, “I don’t know what the end game is, but I guess we’ll find out when we get a report.” She then asked to amend the item to separate matching funds, saying “we have let some grants go because we didn’t have matching funds.” She also asked that the report list separately pass-through grants that wind up somewhere other than in county coffers. The amendments passed, though Chairman Oliver Gilbert III said, “I think this item is fine the way it is.” The county commission gets the final vote. 

HEALTH CARE BONANZA: The state Agency for Health Care Administration announced plans to award contracts to five health plans to take part in the Medicaid managed-care program. The contracts will involve tens of billions of dollars in coming years, with about 3.45 million people receiving health care through the managed-care system. The five are Florida Community Care LLC; Humana Medical Plan Inc.; Simply Healthcare Plans Inc.; South Florida Community Care Network LLC, which does business as Community Care Plan; and Sunshine State Health Plan Inc. Humana, Simply Healthcare and Sunshine State would get statewide contracts, while the other two would receive contracts in regions of the state. The agency is required to go through a procurement process for the contracts every six years.

TRAILS AND RAILS: A feasibility study of South Dade trail corridor connections that could lead to funding for the seven non-motorized trails in the 233-square-mile area that are already in various phases of development is to come before county transportation planners for a vote today (4/18). Transportation Planning Organization board member Steven Losner, the mayor of Homestead, is seeking to reactivate a study the organization approved in 2022 that was sidetracked in 2023 as the planning group looked at introducing passenger trail on the CSX rail line in the area. The seven trails are the Biscayne-Everglades Greenway, Black Creek Trail, CSX Trail, Krome Path, Mowry Trail, Princeton Trail and South Dade Trail. The request indicates that the walking trails could be symbiotic with CSX passenger rail use in the area.