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By BRANDON LARRABEE
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 12, 2017......... As they worked to craft the state's next budget, Florida lawmakers got some unexpected help Wednesday: hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for hospitals that could free up state money to be spent elsewhere.

Gov. Rick Scott announced a deal with the federal government on the Low Income Pool program, also known as LIP, as the House and Senate worked into the evening debating state spending plans for the year that begins July 1. The Low Income Pool provides money to help care for poor and uninsured patients.

Scott, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, credited the new president with helping reach the deal on the funding for LIP, which appears to be about $900 million more than the $607 million the program received for the year that ends June 30.

"Working with the Trump Administration to secure a commitment of $1.5 billion in LIP funding for our state will truly improve the quality and access to health care for our most vulnerable populations," Scott said.

The governor also fit in a dig at former President Barack Obama, whose administration tussled with Scott and Florida House Republicans two years ago about the connection between Medicaid expansion and LIP funding.

"It is great to have a partner in Washington who is willing to work with us to help our state," Scott said.

It wasn't immediately clear the exact dimensions of the increase from the federal government. LIP is a matching program that also draws funding from local sources.

The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to approve its 2017-2018 budget proposal, which banked on $607 million being available for the LIP program. The overall Senate budget plan amounts to about $85.1 billion when all funding sources are taken into account.

The increased LIP funds could allow the state to tap money that had been used to help hospitals cope with declining LIP money under Obama.

Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, welcomed the agreement but said it would take time to figure out how much the funds could help other areas of the budget.

"I think it's too early to tell exactly how we would do that and what the logistics would be," Negron said. "But it's a very positive development for putting our budget together."

The House did not include any of the LIP money in its spending plan, which weighs in at about $81.2 billion and is expected be approved Thursday.