Group launches effort to bring a different kind of single-payer health insurance to Florida
Group launches effort to bring a different kind of single-payer health insurance to Florida
After years of failed attempts to expand Medicaid insurance coverage in Florida, one recently-formed group is pushing for something more — single payer. Normally that means complete government control of health insurance. But the drive for a package of constitutional amendments is focusing on a strategy that keeps private insurance intact. [Source: WJCT]
Florida Supreme Court tosses out part of state medical malpractice law
Saying that changes approved by lawmakers “have gashed Florida’s constitutional right to privacy,” a sharply divided Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected parts of a controversial 2013 medical-malpractice law. More from the Palm Beach Post and the Daily Business Review.
Opioid crisis taking toll on Florida children
More than 4,000 babies were born addicted to opioids in Florida last year, an increase of over 1,000 percent from a decade ago. Substance abuse played a role in two-thirds of the cases where children were removed from their homes within 30 days of birth last year. [Source: St. Augustine Record]
In Florida, it's legal for deceptive doctors to offer plastic surgery without training
South Florida is a popular destination for plastic surgery, but recent cases involving patient injuries and even deaths have exposed the risks patients can face. When it comes to going under the knife, some doctors are not always what they seem. [Source: Local 10]
Displaced Puerto Ricans face medical insurance confusion in Central Florida
In the midst of a humanitarian crisis that has already brought more than 143,000 people into the state since Oct. 3, Puerto Ricans arriving in Florida are finding a confusing health-care system, with deductibles higher than those they are used on the island and private insurance plans that don’t transfer smoothly. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
› Palm Beach ACO doctors top nation in Medicare savings [Palm Beach Post]
A doctor group based in Palm Beach County leads the country in saving taxpayers money while meeting goals for keeping Medicare patients happy and healthy.
› These 30 drug and device companies spent the most on non-research payments to Florida doctors [Orlando Business Journal]
Federal data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, available through the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, shares insight into the financial relationships between doctors and businesses.
› Florida’s pot patient count tops 50,000, Palm Beach County’s first dispensary set to open [Palm Beach Post]
As of Nov. 8, some 50,775 patients had visited a doctor and paid for a state medical card. That puts Florida’s cannabis program 10 percent of the way to the half a million people that pot proponents expected to ultimately sign up.
› Florida Hospital Association lauds ‘Disaster Displacement Act’ [Florida Politics]
The Florida Hospital Association is expressing strong support and “deep appreciation” for a bill by U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy that would make Puerto Rican evacuees almost immediately eligible for full Medicaid coverage by the federal government if they have to evacuate to Florida.