Florida lags in health coverage for pregnant women

| 5/28/2019

Florida lags in health coverage for pregnant women

Florida has one of the highest uninsured rates for women of child-bearing age and continues to lag behind states that have expanded Medicaid, according to a new report. The Georgetown University Center of Children and Families released a study that showed the uninsured rate for women ages 18 to 44 in Florida is 19 percent, compared to the average of 9 percent in states that have opted for expansion of Medicaid. More from the Tampa Bay Times and WOFL.

Budget impact of drug imports, telehealth unclear

Florida lawmakers may have passed major health-care legislation during the 2019 session, but the impact of two bills on the upcoming year’s state budget is indeterminate, a panel of economists agreed last week. Members of the Revenue Estimating Conference met to evaluate several newly passed pieces of legislation, including bills related to importing prescription drugs from Canada and setting up a regulatory framework for “telehealth.” [Source: WUSF]

More mental health treatment sought for Florida children

Florida has an estimated 400,000 children who need behavioral-health services, but 55 percent of them don’t get any treatment, members of a health-care panel were told Thursday. That translates to 220,000 children across the state, or about one child in every classroom, health official Jeffrey Brosco told members of the Florida Healthy Kids Corp. Board of Directors during a meeting in Orlando. [Source: Healh News Florida ]

Florida’s seniors are increasingly depressed and drinking more

Although Florida seniors are living longer, they are smoking, drinking and experiencing depression more than the older population of other states, according to a new national health report. The America’s Health Rankings Senior Report found more than 9 percent of Florida’s 4.2 million seniors said they drink excessively and more than 10 percent said they smoke regularly. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Trulieve in Florida's economy: Medical marijuana and money

Kim Rivers' dad was a Jacksonville Sheriff's deputy while she was growing up. For a time, he was working with an undercover narcotics unit. Today, Rivers leads the largest seller of legal marijuana in Florida, as the CEO of Trulieve. The company was the first to have medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, and now has the most. Revenues grew 400 percent last year to more than $100 million and sales are expected to more than double this year. [Source: WJCT]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida Department of Health reports surge in Hepatitis A cases [Sarasota Magazine]
Since January 2018, the Florida Department of Health reports that more than 1,200 cases of hepatitis A have been reported statewide, with 89 new cases in the last week. The increase reflects similar national trends, as local and state health departments across the country have worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to respond to outbreaks since March 2017.

› After Hollywood nursing home tragedy, backup power systems still lacking [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
With hurricane season a week away, public officials gathered Friday at the site of the 2017 nursing home catastrophe in Hollywood and called for more steps to make sure it never happens again. Twelve elderly people died after Hurricane Irma knocked out power at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, where patients sweltered for three days in temperatures that reached 99 degrees.

› Health care system launches virtual medical service [Business Observer]
Lee Health has launched Lee TeleHealth, a new virtual care service that allows patients to visit with a board-certified physician and advanced provider for treatment of a variety of health concerns 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For a fee of $49 per visit, the service is available on-demand from computer, smartphone or tablet.

› AdventHealth acquires 2 Polk County hospitals from Community Health Systems [Orlando Sentinel]
AdventHealth has purchased the 193-bed Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center in Davenport and the 160-bed Lake Wales Medical Center in Lake Wales from the for-profit Community Health Systems, the health system announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Tags: Health Care eNews

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