Hope Florida Saga of Desantis explained

The Hope Florida story rules this unparalleled legislative session.

However, it is a rather difficult thread to follow. Many players and many accusations are thrown in.

First, set your stage with important numbers.

Governor Ron Desantis: He doesn’t need to be introduced.

First Lady Casey DeSantis: DeSantis’ wife. Its signature initiative is Hope Florida, a program that separates people from government aid. DeSantis is widely rumored to be watching the governor’s run in 2026 (her husband is unable to run again due to period restrictions).

Attorney General James Usmier: Ron DeSantis appointed Usmier as Attorney General earlier this year. Previously, Uthmeier was Desantis’ most trusted aide. At various times he served as the governor’s chief of staff, his 2024 presidential election manager, and his top political competition.

Centene: A national healthcare company that settled with the state last year for $67 million after overcharging Florida’s Medicaid program.

House Speaker Daniel Perez: A Miami Republican who became the chief antagonist of the state’s DeSantis. Perez’s house was the main body examining Florida’s wishes.

Florida Rep. Alex Andrade: Pensacola Republican and chairman of the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee, who accused DeSantis administration of inappropriately leaking its pet political cause.

So let’s walk through the debate. Six important questions about Hope Florida answered.

What is the Florida controversy?

House Republicans have accused the DeSantis administration of using hope-related charities in Florida to suck up public funds that go to political causes, primarily poor families.

It all began in 2021 when state officials got wind of allegations that Centene, the large healthcare company responsible for operations across the country, overcharged millions of people for the state’s Medicaid program.

State officials soon began settlement talks with Centnay. In the end, Centene agreed to pay the state $67 million.

The settlement was finalized in September. DeSantis had shown that DeSantis, a voting initiative that legalizes adult recreational marijuana, was opposed to Amendment 3.

From the Centane settlement, the DeSantis administration poured $10 million into the Florida Foundation’s Hope. (A little bit more about that group.) The foundation then granted a $5 million grant to two political groups that don’t need to disclose donors.

These groups then donated $8.5 million to keep Florida clean. This is the main group against Amendment 3. (Team DeSantis won in the ballot box: Amendment 3 was lost.)

Republican lawmaker Andredo claims that Usmeyer told representatives of two dark money groups to apply for the Florida Foundation’s desired grant.

If that happened, he said it would amount to Uthmeier’s operating money from the settlement of Saintane to the public’s political committee he controlled.

In response, the Uthmeier team said Andrade is working on behalf of the Florida Marijuana industry. In a letter to Andrade, one representative of the Dark Money Group denied that Usmeyer had put pressure on her to lead his grant to the political committee.

backup. What is Hope Florida?

Casey Desantis announced its Hope Florida initiative in 2021. The idea was “Hope Navigators” to connect people who need community resources such as charities and religious organizations.

This idea has become a huge part of the Desantis administration’s approach to social welfare. Although many hope navigators are hoping to be housed in the children and family department, they have become part of many agencies under the governor’s scope. The state has released a news release on Hope Florida that connects people seeking employment with employment resources. About that, long-term mentors are assigned to care for children and award grants to nonprofits that say the state does a good job on that. The Hope Florida Mission is to drive people out of government programs like Medicaid, the same program that is problematic in political conflicts.

Governments connecting people in need with local nonprofit resources are not a new idea. The North Carolina program, NCCARE360, is intended to make that happen and has been active since 2019.

It is also not clear that Hope Florida is as successful as the DeSantis administration claims. This month, the governor said the program saved Florida $100 million. He said the program helped more than 30,000 people declined or reduced their reliance on government assistance. But the administration has repeated that number for most of the year, raising questions about its accuracy.

Nevertheless, Desantis’ team raves about the program, pointing to an anecdotal success story.

“We have never seen anything within our agency as a transformation for over two years in Florida,” said Liz Phillips, the Department of Juvenile Justice’s hopes navigator.

What is the Hope Florida Foundation?

I hope Florida is the name of a large government initiative. The Foundation is a charity established by the nation to enhance the work of children and families. In theory, it collects donations and distributes them to organizations that help drive people out of government aid.

The charity transferred less than 5% of its contribution in its first year, according to its tax returns.

The Hope Florida Foundation has official designations. This is a direct support organization for the department. That means state law controls philanthropy, how you sit on the board, and what purposes it can raise funds.

For many years, the Florida Foundation’s hopes have not complied with many of these laws, legislative staff argued. For example, we do not perform annual audits required by state law. He was also late in filing his taxes, but only did so after reporters began researching the charity.

Why is Medicaid so important here?

The main questions in the Saga are making a $10 million donation to Centrene’s Hope Florida. Was it Medicaid money?

If so, it could mean serious consequences for administration of DeSantis. Medicaid is a highly regulated joint and federal program we undertake to ensure poor children in Florida. Then redirecting money to an unrelated political campaign is not only a bad political expression, it could be a federal crime.

The Desantis team says $10 million was not Medicaid money. Last week, the state issued a letter indicating that Centerne had paid Florida $57 million to overcharge Medicaid.

Desantis calls $10 million “the cherry on top” of excess settlement.

However, experts are challenging its characterization. Because Medicaid is a state and federal program, Florida had to pay the federal government a percentage of the settlement. That means they owes the federal government 57% of the total $67 million settlement, according to federal guidance.

“The McCoteau School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, who has over 50 years of experience in the Medicaid program,” said Andy Schneider, a research professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.

Why do Republicans face Republican governors?

DeSantis does not enjoy scrutiny from his fellow Republicans. He is called “bad” and “rotten” by leaders of Florida homes.

His allies say it’s all political. Casey Desantis is potentially preparing to run for governor in 2026, with some Republicans hoping to beat her. (Rep. Byron Donald has already won the support of President Donald Trump in that race.)

House Republicans claim they weren’t playing the 2026 game. They say they are all about good government.

“My focus has been on transparency and accountability, especially when taxpayer dollars are involved,” Perez wrote in a statement to the Times last week.

Are state lawmakers investigating the Florida Foundation’s wishes?

There’s no more. Last week, in a surprising move, the Florida home said it had finished its investigation.

Can’t you see anything here?

Times/Herald staff writers Lawrence Mower and Alexandra Glorioso contributed to this report.