TALLAHASSEE — What started as a plan to shield three disputed HCA trauma centers — including Blake Medical Center in Bradenton — from legal action, and later added limits on sky-high trauma access fees, collapsed entirely late Friday as legislators failed to pass any trauma measure. One of the most high profile
Gentlemen, start your engines. Gov. Rick Scott is taking a celebratory victory lap around Florida this week, taking credit for a $25 cut in auto tag fees that legislators approved and he signed into law, all the while hammering the record of Charlie Crist, his likely Democratic rival. On Monday,
Some people wanted the big bill of the 2014 legislative session to be Medicaid expansion, accepting federal funds to cover the low-income uninsured. Indeed, interfaith groups were still running phone banks and staging demonstrations up to Friday, the last day of the session. But it was clear even before the 2014 Florida Legislature opened
When the 2014 legislative session began, Senate and House leaders focused on a five-point “work plan.” Cut taxes. Support the troops. Make government more efficient. Improve schools. Protect the vulnerable. But House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, left off the most obvious priority: protect Gov. Rick Scott, who faces a tough re-election
Measures that failed to pass during the 2012 regular session of the Florida Legislature, which ended Friday, would have: … HEALTH CARE —Taken $50 billion in federal money over the next decade to expand Medicaid health coverage for needy Floridians. —Promoted the use of telemedicine in Florida and establish requirements for health
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Legislation that passed during the 2014 regular session of the Florida Legislature, which ended Friday: ABORTION — Would ban abortions if a doctor determines the fetus could survive outside the womb. — Would allow criminal charges for the death or injury of a fetus at any stage of
There’s a flurry of health policy activity as Florida’s 2014 Legislature comes to an end tonight. On Thursday, the Senate didn’t budge on its ongoing opposition to giving nurse practitioners more authority. The House proposals were stripped from the omnibus health bill (SB 7113) Thursday, the News Service of Florida reports. The same flurry of amendments also
To All Insurers and Entities Regulated by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation The purpose of this memorandum is to notify all Insurers and Entities regulated by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation of the changes to the I-File System and to remind all users of the requirements of Section
By Executive Order 14-144 dated April 30, 2014, Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in the following northwest Florida counties: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Franklin, Gadsden, Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Hamilton, Suwanee, Lafayette, Dixie, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy and Alachua.
Private flood insurance policies could become more widely available in Florida after the Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a bill aimed at jump-starting the market through looser regulation than exists for conventional homeowners’ coverage. Senators voted 30-3 for a House version of the flood insurance bill that included some additional