DeSantis touts Hope Florida as 'great success story.' What has it done?

The Hope Florida program is embedded in every contract with the state’s Medicaid providers.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the first lady have branded Hope Florida as an innovative program to help people off government assistance.

But after nearly four years, the goals and effectiveness of the initiative remain a mystery. State officials have released no relevant data about its performance or how much it costs. Lawmakers and others familiar with the program say it duplicates existing services.

This week, state officials said a major function of Hope Florida is “graduating” people from Medicaid, an elusive goal that could cause thousands of Floridians to lose their health insurance.

As DeSantis wants lawmakers to create an Office of Hope Florida under the governor in state law, Hope Florida’s charity arm is enveloped in a growing scandal over $10 million in state settlement money that was funneled through its coffers to two dark-money groups.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2025/04/15/desantis-casey-hope-florida-navigators-medicaid/

It's looking to me that Hope Florida just may be a slush fund set up to promote Republican policies using Florida taxpayer money.