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Florida's billion-dollar drug treatment industry is plagued by overdoses, fraud

Florida Trend Health Care

Florida's billion-dollar drug treatment industry is plagued by overdoses, fraud

| 6/27/2017

Florida's billion-dollar drug treatment industry is plagued by overdoses, fraud

Thousands of addicts arrive in Florida each year from Ohio and West Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, hoping that at one of South Florida's many drug treatment centers, they'll find recovery. And some do. But many of these vulnerable patients have become grist in an insurance fraud mill. More from NBC News, Health News Florida, and The Hill.

See also:
» Death Race: Florida first responders rush from one overdose to the next
» Delray Beach: Don’t dump your opioid addicts here
» Deadline approaching to reform prescription drug monitoring program
» From Florida Trend: Addicted to rehab: A look at Florida's sober houses

Florida medical marijuana rules need finalization

The Florida Department of Health's Office of Compassionate Use has until next Monday to finalize medical marijuana rules now that Gov. Rick Scott has signed the bill into law. The law allowing the sale of full-strength medical cannabis under Amendment 2 takes effect Oct. 3. [Source: WESH]

See also:
» What medical marijuana law doesn't allow

Medical records dispute heads to Supreme Court

A long-running battle about how much patients should be charged for copies of medical records has gone to the Florida Supreme Court. A patient and a law firm opposed to increased costs have filed a notice asking the Supreme Court to take up the dispute. [Source: Lakeland Ledger]

Florida ranked 40th in latest Kids Count report

Florida children are falling behind in economic well-being, but enjoyed gains in health, maintaining the state’s rank of 40th out of the 50 states in the latest Kids Count annual report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The foundation is the nation’s leading research nonprofit tracking the health and well-being of children and families. [Source: Northwest Florida Daily News]

See also:
» The Florida's 2017 Kids Count Profile is here.

Six insurers to sell Obamacare coverage in Florida for 2018

Late last week state regulators announced that nine insurers have filed rates for 2018 coverage on the individual market where people buy insurance when they don’t get it from work or a government program. Among those insurers, six plan to sell coverage on the ACA exchange at healthcare.gov [Source: Miami Herald]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida Hospital Fish Memorial announces massive expansion
Florida Hospital Fish Memorial announced Friday a $100 million expansion that will nearly double the size of its emergency room, provide more space for private rooms and add a four-story tower, which will include new cardiology and intensive care facilities. Also read more at Daytona Beach News-Journal.

› UCF forum seeks common ground on health care
A forum at the University of Central Florida was held Monday evening to discuss the proposed changes to health care. Some of the big topics included were block grants, Medicaid, high risk pools and operating costs.

› Langone Medical Center to open two clinics in Florida
Just like many of its patients, New York University’s Langone Medical Center is heading to Florida. The hospital is opening two health clinics in West Palm Beach and Delray Beach. Also read more at the New York Post.

› Provider’s preference for pain therapy can influence patient’s results, UF researchers find
A health care provider’s beliefs about a particular treatment may have a strong influence on the patient’s outcome, according to a new University of Florida study that evaluated people undergoing treatment for short-term low back pain.

» Go to page 2 for more health care stories in your region

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