Tensions were high in the Florida Legislature over the last week as a panel of House lawmakers demanded answers about money for a program spearheaded by first lady Casey DeSantis.
The subject: What was called a $10 million “donation” to the Hope Florida Foundation, whose goal is to help Floridians receiving traditional welfare assistance to move on to services offered by nonprofits and religious organizations such as churches.
The money was part of a $67 million legal settlement between AHCA and Centene, a large provider of services under Florida’s Medicaid-managed care plans.
The problem: Under state law, money from settlements must be deposited into the state’s general revenue fund and reported to the Legislature for oversight. The $10 million wasn’t.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday denied that the $10 million was part of the agreement, which was signed in September 2024 and not disclosed to the Legislature.
“When you do settlements, you can try to get as much money as you can, but this was in addition to what they were getting,” he told reporters at a press conference in Miami. He described it as “kind of like a cherry on top, where they agreed to make an additional contribution, and so we were served well by what AHCA did.”
But on Friday, the latest revelation from the Miami Herald was that “the Hope Florida Foundation turned around and gave $5 million a piece to organizations that in turn gave millions to a political committee waging an anti-marijuana amendment campaign championed by the governor.”
The use of the $10 million “looks like criminal fraud by some of those involved,” GOP state Rep. Alex Andrade, one of DeSantis’ main critics, told the newspaper. “… (W)ho on earth thought this was legal, moral or ethical?” DeSantis’ defenders on social media denied any wrongdoing by the administration.
The governor had been pushing lawmakers to codify his wife’s program into law. Casey DeSantis is said to be considering a run for governor in 2026 to replace her husband, who is term-limited.
Here’s what to know:
Hope Florida controversy: Feud between DeSantis, Florida House deepens as governor blasts lawmakers’ inaction
State Represenative Alex Andrade attends a meeting at Pensacola State College on Wednesday, Jan 8, 2025.
What is the fight over Hope Florida?
Last week, members of the state House noticed that a legislative analysis mentioned problems with obtaining financial details from Hope Florida, Politico reported.
On Wednesday, House lawmakers – led by Andrade as chair of the Health Care Budget Subcommittee – hammered Shevaun Harris, the secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, for over two hours. AHCA had directed health insurers to cooperate with Hope Florida as part of their contracts.
The questions ranged from the Centene payment, which was described in the agreement as “a one-time donation,” to Hope Florida getting preferential treatment in state contracts and a lack of transparency regarding who is responsible for the organization.
“The Centene Entities’ obligation to pay the Hope Florida Donation shall be fully satisfied and extinguished upon completion of the wire transfer deposit of such installment into the account of The Hope Florida Foundation, Inc., as directed by AHCA,” the settlement said, according to a copy acquired by Politico.
“I still can’t understand how it is featured so heavily in the state’s largest contract, yet I can’t get an answer as to exactly how Hope Florida is operating,” Andrade said. “I still can’t get answers about a $10 million transfer of funds that was probably illegal.”
Harris struggled at times to answer questions and later released a 4-minute video with other state agency heads who work with Hope Florida, calling Andrade’s questioning an “ambush.”
On Thursday evening, Andrade appeared on former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz’s One America News show to discuss the matter, and the two men compared it to “settlement slush funds,” settlements that require a donation to a third group, according to Floridian Press.
Gaetz pointed out that in 2016 Gov. DeSantis – then a congressman – co-sponsored a bill banning the practice, but it died in committee.
What is Hope Florida? What does it do?
Hope Florida, started by Casey DeSantis in 2021, tries to help Floridians move off of government assistance by connecting them to a clearing house of other services from nonprofits and faith-based communities.
Hope Florida “Navigators” are state employees who work with people to find solutions from the private sector, faith-based communities, and nonprofits to help them use all the local community resources available and reduce the need for the government’s help.
According to DeSantis, the goal is for Florida to help and then stay “out of the way.”
A website says Hope Florida has served over 100,000 Floridians since its beginning, specifically helping more than 25,500 participants to “reduce or eliminate reliance on public assistance.”
What is the difference between Hope Florida and the Hope Florida Foundation?
In 2023, Hope Florida administrators created a separate nonprofit called the Hope Florida Foundation. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Casey DeSantis’ name does not appear on corporate records for the charity.
The foundation has yet to release records about their donors or recipients or any state-mandated records about its structure, ethics and oversight.
As a nonprofit, the IRS also requires the Hope Florida Foundation to file tax forms that must be made public upon request by members of the public.
Reporters from the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau have said they were turned away after making such a request at the Department of Children and Families headquarters in the capital.
That’s because they didn’t exist.
Joshua Hay, president of the Hope Florida Foundation, later told Florida’s Voice it was “in the process of creating its relevant tax documents” and “expect(ed) to have the documents available for public inspection within the next 10 days.”
Harris told lawmakers there was no executive director of the Hope Florida program, which she said uses state employees at many different agencies to help connect those in need with services throughout state government and with nonprofits, including churches, who can provide food, clothing and shelter for those in crisis.
Hay is CEO of Indelible Solutions, a Tallahassee-based management consulting firm, Harris said. Other officers listed on the nonprofit’s annual report, released Wednesday, are Jake Farmer, Fatima Perez, Tina Vidal-Duart and Stephanie White.
Farmer is director of state and local government relations for Walgreens. Perez is a director of state government affairs for Koch Industries. Vidal-Duart is the CEO of CDR Health Care, Inc., based in Miami. White is an adoption attorney in Pensacola.
How is Hope Florida funded?
According to its website, Hope Florida is funded by donations from individuals and private businesses and provides financial services to local nonprofit organizations.
The group serves as the direct support organization for the Florida Department of Children and Families but accepts donations and grants, gifts, holds, invests, and administers the money under its own name.
Gray Rohrer of the USA TODAY Network – Florida Capital Bureau contributed reporting.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Hope Florida $10 million donation at heart of Florida lawmaker battle
