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Gov. Rick Scott's hospital commission held its first meeting Wednesday, overwhelmed by mounds of data but intent on determining whether hospitals that receive tax money are being managed efficiently. "What are we paying for and what's the result of what we're paying for? Do patients have access, is it quality care and is it affordable?" said Dr. Jason Rosenburg. (Kennedy, 5/20)

A commission that Gov. Rick Scott created this month is facing off with hospitals as it looks for ways to make government spending on health care more efficient. But after the first meeting of the Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding on Wednesday, it's clear that solutions won't come until after the June 30 deadline for the Legislature to pass a budget, including on health spending. There's a lot of information for the panel to collect and analyze, chairman Carlos Beruff said. The commission's nine members aren't necessarily tasked with solving the current stalemate over federal funding for Medicaid and the Low Income Pool that expires June 30. Still, their early conversations have centered on those programs and the financial records of hospitals that are reimbursed by government for treating low-income patients. (Auslen, 5/20)