Florida legislators focus on hospital costs, competition

| 3/21/2017

Florida legislators focus on hospital costs, competition

Florida House Republicans appear willing to ditch their plan to deregulate the entire state health care industry and focus instead on their boogeyman: hospitals. This year, lawmakers in both chambers have introduced bills to repeal certificate-of-need laws for hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. The certificate-of-need law governs how many hospitals can be built. If anything passes, it probably will be a modified version that excludes hospices and nursing homes, said Sen. Denise Grimsley, a Republican nurse and hospital administrator from Sebring. [Source: Naples Daily News]

See also:
» House Bill 7 | Senate Bill 676

Florida voters overwhelmingly reject key part of GOP health care plan

A majority of Floridians want to expand Obamacare and three-quarters worry about losing coverage if the law is repealed, according to a poll released Thursday by Florida Atlantic University. A whopping 76 percent reject a proposal under the GOP plan that would allow insurers to charge older people more. See the study from FAU, here. Also read more at the Tampa Bay Times.

Changing long-term care: Medicaid and managed care in Florida

A growing number of states, including Florida, are contracting our long-term medical care with what's known as managed care organizations. It's a way for states to consolidate care for large groups, ranging from pregnant women, to people with specific disabilities, to long-term care for aging Floridians. [Source: WGCU]

Judge sides with HCA in hospital industry fight

As Florida lawmakers look at eliminating controversial regulations on building hospitals, a judge has sided with the HCA health-care chain in an industry battle about adding a hospital in Miami-Dade County. [Source: WUSF]

Florida unit investigating Medicaid fraud gets high marks

Florida is among one of the nation's top states in recovering money from health care providers suspected of Medicaid fraud. Florida's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit recovered more than $165 million during the 2016 federal fiscal year. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Publix and BayCare Health System announce exclusive four-county collaboration [Florida Trend]
Publix Pharmacy and BayCare Health System are pleased to announce an exclusive collaboration to improve the delivery of health care to the residents of Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties in Florida.

› Orlando Health’s helicopter teams saving lives around Central Florida [Daily Commercial]
If you're clinging to life after an accident, stroke or heart attack, you might look up and see an angel of mercy coming in for a landing. That "angel" will probably be Orlando Health's Air Care team based at Leesburg International Airport.

› Legislature starts to tackle medical marijuana bills [WMFE]
There are five competing bills just in the Florida Senate on how the state should implement a medical marijuana amendment. The Florida Senate’s Health Policy Committee under Senator Dana Young will start the medical marijuana debate.

› Florida health center remains vigilant in fight against Zika [Health Data Management]
It’s been almost nine months since Florida became the first U.S. state to confirm local mosquito transmission of the Zika virus. In the public health battle that ensued, Miami-Dade County became ground zero in the war against the mosquito-borne illness.

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