Gov. DeSantis poised to make medical marijuana changes

| 1/15/2019

Gov. DeSantis poised to make medical marijuana changes

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he will “very soon” announce changes in how the state is carrying out a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. DeSantis, a Republican, said many voters believe the state has been “foot dragging” in implementing the amendment, approved by more than 71 percent of voters in 2016. More from the Bradenton Herald and the Orlando Sentinel.

House panels to split health care oversight

House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, has promised to shake up the state’s health-care delivery system during his two-year tenure leading the House of Representatives. A lot of the work will fall on two health-care panels: the Health Quality Subcommittee and the Health Market Reform Subcommittee. [Source: Health News Florida]

Florida Medical Association backs Ron DeSantis water quality efforts

Leadership for the Florida Medical Association say Gov. Ron DeSantis’ water quality policies could be good medicine for health in the Sunshine State. While the organization normally weighs in on matters like health care reform, the FMA also established an Environment & Health Council. The state group in 2017 released a report stressing the need for environmental responsibility. [Source: Florida Politics]

Hospice providers want exemption from Florida's opioid database

A law that went into effect last July requires medical providers to check a statewide database before prescribing opioids for patients. Now, lawmakers are being asked to consider an exemption for doctors whose patients are terminally ill. [Source: WFSU]

Most Florida nursing homes need more time for generators

After 12 nursing home residents died from heat exposure during power outages from Hurricane Irma, Florida lawmakers required nursing homes and assisted living facilities have generators that can run the air conditioner for four days. More than nine months later, 97 percent of nursing homes and assisted living facilities are in compliance with the law. But that number includes many that have been granted an extension. [Source: WMFE]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Some help, more needed for Florida girl with rare blood type [Health News Florida]
A New York woman with a rare blood type is donating two units to help save a 2-year-old South Florida girl who is battling cancer. OneBlood is asking for donors for the girl, whose blood lacks an antigen most people carry.

› Former prosecutor to review Johns Hopkins' heart institute in Florida after investigation revealed problems [Baltimore Sun]
The Johns Hopkins Medicine Board of Trustees has appointed a former federal prosecutor to review the Heart Institute at All Children’s Hospital in Florida after a Tampa Bay Times investigation found high injury and death rates among pediatric patients at the center.

› New AHCA secretary has fans, detractors [WUSF]
While Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Mary Mayhew will take the helm at the state Agency for Health Care Administration, it hasn’t been made clear when she will begin the job or how much she will earn. What is crystal clear, though, is DeSantis is thrilled that Mayhew, who for three months headed the federal Medicaid program, is Florida-bound.

› HCA Healthcare buys 100 acres in Estero for $52.5 million [Naples Daily News]
HCA Healthcare purchased nearly 100 acres in Estero for $52.5 million at the end of December, property records show. The Nashville-based health care system bought the land for a planned hospital in Estero that state regulators approved last year, said Debra McKell, a spokeswoman for HCA West Florida, a division of HCA.

Tags: Health Care eNews

Previous Health Care Updates:

A Florida health provider says better building design can help patients heal

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

Florida home values have more than doubled in the past decade

Sunshine State manufacturing is a powerhouse, rivals tourism