Fla. governor pulls Medicaid from 6 SNFs.

Gov. Jeb Bush pulled Medicaid funding from six Florida nursing homes recently. Three others could be next, according to reports.

Bush took the unprecedented action following two years of problems with the homes, which are primarily in Southwest Florida. About $1.6 billion of the state's $8.8 billion in annual Medicaid funding goes to nursing homes and covers two-thirds of the patients statewide.

"In this action today we stand up for Florida's frail elders, our state's most vulnerable citizens, and for accountability," Bush said in a statement. "I'm convinced it's the right thing to do."

The Florida Association of Homes for the Aging, a group of 280 not-for-profit providers, lauded the move, saying a small percentage of notoriously substandard facilities undermine the reputation of the entire industry.

The six homes that lost their Medicaid funding are Abbey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in St. Petersburg, Greenwood Rehabilitation Center in West Palm Beach, Colonial Oaks Rehabilitation in Fort Myers, Crystal Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation in Thonotosassa, The Magnolias in Pensacola, and Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center of Tampa. In sum, they lost contracts for 420 Medicaid recipients of their total 1,027 beds.

The facilities repeatedly failed inspections on various aspects of patient care, including losing track of patients for more than a day at a time, and not monitoring vital signs, according to a statement by Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan.

Dozens of residents and their relatives protested an effort to move them from the Tampa home, according to a report in the Tampa Tribune.

Vencor Inc., which owns three of the six, reportedly claims in its lawsuit that the state has no authority to take away its Medicaid money while the home is in compliance with state rules. There are other ways to address problems, it says.