Floridians spending bigger share of their income on health premiums

| 12/11/2018

Floridians spending bigger share of their income on health premiums

According to a new study, workers and their families are spending a bigger share of their income on health care than in previous years – especially in Florida. On average, Floridians along with 10 other states, last year spent more than eight percent of their incomes on their monthly health insurance premiums. See the report and state-by-state profiles, plus read more from Health News Florida.

KidCare premiums to hold steady for 2019 plan year

The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation board recently approved the 2019 rate schedule for the health plans they offer, opting to stay the course with the current premium schedule. That means prices will remain the same for the 2019 plan year —which began Oct. 1 for the subsidized plan and will begin on Jan. 1 for the full-pay plan. [Source: Florida Politics]

Conjoined twins separated by UF Health Shands surgeons

Conjoined twins separated by UF Health surgeons in Gainesville will be together for Christmas. Twin sisters Jesi and Remi were born on May 15 as conjoined twins locked at the abdomen, University of Florida Health said. Two months later, surgeons separated the babies. See the full story and a video from UF News and read more from WJXT and the Gainesville Sun.

Panel of health experts to dig into issues for DeSantis

Lt. Gov.-elect Jeanette Nuñez and former Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Alan Levine are co-chairing a committee that could help shape health-care plans for incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis. The 50-member Transition Advisory Committee on Health and Wellness will hold its first meeting at 1 p.m. Wednesday. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

No hospital, just an emergency 'department'. They're popping up all over.

Nearly every hospital chain is opening free-standing emergency rooms — commonly referred to as emergency departments, or EDs — to connect the dots between their major hospitals while cutting wait times and medical costs for consumers. They’re popping up everywhere in Tampa Bay. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› TV ad by Florida Hospital features 18 cancer survivors [Orlando Sentinel]
Florida Hospital and its parent company, Adventist Health System, are changing their name to AdventHealth and are at the middle of a major rebranding campaign. The health system has already rolled out commercials about the name change but wanted to do something a little different during the holidays.

› State, federal officials missed warnings at All Children’s heart unit [Tampa Bay Times]
At least four times this year, government regulators were alerted to serious problems in the heart surgery program at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Both state and federal officials promised thorough investigations after the earliest warnings. Instead, they have done virtually nothing.

› Central Florida hospital merger started rough, ended quickly [Lakeland Ledger]
Lakeland Regional tried to address financial challenges in February 2017 through a merger with Orlando Health, whose officials said they knew Lakeland’s financial picture would present challenges.

› Aspirin could be a weapon against ovarian cancer, Moffitt researcher says [Tampa Bay Times]
The data from thousands of patients shows a link between aspirin and longer survival for those with ovarian cancer. The evidence is strong enough to warrant a conversation with your doctor, says Tampa-based researcher Shelley Tworoger.

Tags: Health Care eNews

Previous Health Care Updates:

Florida hospitals: Building boom

College crime surging back to pre-COVID levels. Here's the crime at Florida colleges, universities

Florida insurance market full of ‘low quality' companies, study finds

Sunshine State manufacturing is a powerhouse, rivals tourism