Tallahassee, FL - Gov. Rick Scott has signed two historic
Medicaid bills, placing the health care of nearly 3 million Florida
residents into the hands of for-profit companies and hospital
networks.

Scott signed the bills Thursday.

Lawmakers say Medicaid was overwhelming the state budget and
needed to be privatized to rein in costs and improve patient care.

Critics fear the bills build on a flawed five-county experiment
where patients struggled to access specialists and doctors
complained the treatments they prescribed were frequently denied.

Sen. Joe Negron, who spearheaded the overhaul, said leaders have
learned from the pilot program's shortcomings and includes
increased oversight and more stringent penalties.

Long term care patients will be the first to enroll in the
statewide program starting in October 2013. Others will join the
following year.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)