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Drug import program with Canada could take longer than expected

Drug import program with Canada could take longer than expected

Governor Ron DeSantis says it might take some time before Florida patients can get prescription drugs from Canada through a program he announced last week. That’s because some federal agencies are still concerned with the availability and quality of these drugs. DeSantis wants to use the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 which would allow Canadian wholesalers and pharmacies to import drugs to Florida at a lower cost. [Source: ]

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» Gov. DeSantis announces healthcare plan to lower prescription drug costs

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Healthcare attracts big retailers

Walmart, which became the world’s largest retailer by undercutting the competition on pricing, sees an enormous potential growth market in the expensive and opaque world of healthcare. Other big retailers also see opportunity if they can tear down healthcare’s barriers of cost, access and complexity. [Source: Florida Trend]

Children without health insurance on rise in Florida

Florida’s overall uninsured rate for children is at 7.3 percent while the national average sits at 5 percent. But the number of uninsured children nationally also increased from 3.649 million in 2016 to 3.925 million last year, the first time in nearly a decade the numbers have increased. [Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal]

Lake Nona Impact Forum attracts big names in 7th year

The seventh annual Lake Nona Impact Forum, an invite-only gathering of more than 200 company executives, entrepreneurs and policy experts, placed a heavy emphasis on wellbeing this year while highlighting innovation and inspiring stories of people who have dedicated their lives to fighting diseases of the body and mind. [Source: ]

Florida dentists can qualify for student loan repayments if they agree to work in underserved areas

A House health-care panel has moved forward with a bill that would allow Florida dentists to qualify for up to 250 thousand dollars in student-loan repayments if they agree to work in public-health programs or underserved areas. [Source: ]

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The University of Florida has received a $12 million gift from Orlando hotel magnate Harris Rosen and The Harris Rosen Foundation to advance innovative brain tumor immunotherapy research and care at UF Health and to launch an unprecedented partnership for the development of novel brain tumor treatments.

› Florida lawmaker uses his nose to try to get flu bill passed
How far is Florida Rep. Tyler Sirois willing to go to get a bill passed? On Thursday, he let fellow Republican Rep. Cary Pigman shove a stick up his nose as news cameras recorded the image outside the House chamber. Sirois is trying to pass a bill to let pharmacists test customers for the flu and provide treatment on the spot.

› Drug repository program gets backing
With bipartisan support, state lawmakers are moving forward with bills that would authorize a drug-repository program to redistribute prescription drugs to poor and uninsured residents. House and Senate proposals (HB 59 and SB 104) received approval this week from the House Health Quality Subcommittee and the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

› All Children's Hospital fixes some problems after feds threaten to cut funding
In the months since a Tampa Bay Times investigation exposed major problems in its heart surgery program, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital submitted a corrective action plan to the federal government. The hospital said federal investigators have accepted its Plan of Correction and "through an on-site survey" found deficiencies have been corrected.