Amid scrutiny, DeSantis says $10 million payment to his wife’s Hope Florida program is not illegal but a ‘cherry on top’

Gov. Ron DeSantis denied Thursday that a $10 million payment to the Hope Florida Foundation that was part of an agreement with health care giant Centene over Medicaid payments was illegal and called it a “cherry on top” instead.

The settlement agreement, signed Sept. 27, 2024, was not disclosed to the Florida Legislature. Leading House Republicans suggested the payment to the foundation, championed by First Lady Casey DeSantis, could be illegal because it wasn’t disclosed as required by state law.

“First of all, this was a settlement,” DeSantis told reporters in Miami. “It was a good deal that was negotiated. 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. This is 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.”

The $10 million payment, described in the agreement as a “one time donation” to the Hope Florida Foundation, was included in a $67 million settlement agreement between Centene and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and the Attorney General’ Office to settle any and all claims “filed, unfiled, or which could be filed,” arising from overpayments for pharmacy benefits or services between 2016 and 2021.

A closer look

The scrutiny of Hope Florida Foundation finances and the $10 million payment comes amid speculation that Casey DeSantis may run for governor but also as tensions continue to mount between DeSantis and top Republicans in the Florida House.

AHCA Secretary Shevaun Harris disclosed the settlement agreement and the Centene payment during a lengthy House health care budget committee meeting Wednesday.

Following the contentious hearing, Harris put out a video with other DeSantis administration agency heads decrying the House hearing as an “ambush.”

During his Miami event, DeSantis lashed out at press reports over Hope Florida and asserted that House Republicans were orchestrating negative coverage of the program, which aims to “graduate” people from welfare assistance and other government aid to services offered by nonprofits and religious organizations. The foundation supports its work.

House Speaker Daniel Perez defended the hearing and contended that legislators were “seeking transparency” and “answers” about a secretive settlement agreement.

“No one is denying that there has been good work and that people have been helped,” Perez said Wednesday. “There are further questions we have to ask. … How was the money received? Where did it go? How was it used and why? … We should be able to hold them accountable.”

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

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This article appears in The 420 Issue 2025.