Florida workers see health insurance taking a bigger bite of their paychecks

Florida families are seeing more of their paychecks going to health insurance as wage growth lags against escalating premiums and deductibles, according to a national health care foundation. The state is one of five where middle-income families average spending 14 percent or more of their income on out-of-pocket insurance costs, according to the Commonwealth Fund. Read more from the Naples Daily News and WUSF.

DeSantis wants to delay state worker health insurance changes

Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to put on hold for another year an overhaul of the health insurance program that provides benefits to more than 366,000 state employees and family members across Florida. A proposed budget released this week by the Republican governor would maintain the same type of coverage that state employees have now, despite a 2017 law that required the program to be revamped effective in January 2020. [Source: Tallahassee Democrat]

Florida leads the nation again in Affordable Care Act signups

Florida is again surging ahead in Affordable Care Act sign ups, with nearly half a million people opting for coverage three weeks into the enrollment period. Since Nov. 1, when the period began, 463,066 Floridians have signed up for health insurance next year under the act, commonly known as Obamacare, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Hacking your health: Millions of health records are stolen every year

Each time you're admitted to a hospital, visit a doctor,or file an insurance claim, your private information is at risk. According to a new study, there have been nearly 1,500 data breaches in the past 10 years, affecting 159 million patients. In 71 percent of the cases, personal or financial data was accessed. Hackers get into systems through emails with malware that infects, destroys or steals data. [Source: WESH]

Florida Blue threatens to drop Health First from network, but experts say it's unlikely

Florida’s largest health insurance provider is threatening to remove Health First from its network, saying the health system is asking for too-high increases to its reimbursement rates. Florida Blue and Health First are in the process of renegotiating contracts that outline how much Florida Blue will pay Health First for its services in Brevard County. [Source: Florida Today]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Judge blocks release of health plan information [WUSF]
A Leon County circuit judge has issued a permanent injunction to shield from public disclosure information that a Medicaid managed-care plan submitted to state regulators. Judge John Cooper this month approved a request by UnitedHealthcare of Florida to prevent the Office of Insurance Regulation from releasing certain information as part of a public-records request.

› High-level doctor joins Central Florida Health as new chief operating officer [Villages News]
A high-level doctor with a wealth of experience has joined the parent company of The Villages Regional Hospital as its new chief operating officer. Dr. David H. Berger recently joined Central Florida Health’s senior executive team, where he also will serve as a senior vice president. He will provide management oversight for the development of high quality, cost-effective and clinically integrated patient care services.

› Forum to touch on health care future in North Port [Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
While Sarasota Memorial Health Care System still has the county’s largest municipality in its 10-year strategic plan, city officials continue to court other hospitals. Any discussion about the future of health care in Sarasota County’s largest city must answer the question “When?” Specifically, when will an acute care hospital be built within city limits.

› University of Miami researcher develops stem cell harvesting technology [Health News Florida]
A University of Miami doctor says he can rebuild a whole jaw using new stem cell collection technology. Known as the “MarrowMarxman”, the FDA-registered device was developed and tested by Dr. Robert Marx, who is a professor and chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.