Associated Press - page 631

Gov. Rick Scott wants state authorities to inspect federal hospitals that serve veterans. Scott sent a letter Tuesday to the secretary of the state’s main health care agency asking for the inspections. The governor joins other elected officials pressing for answers about care at hospitals in the Veterans Affairs Sunshine Healthcare Network. The Tampa Tribune reported last week that five cancer patients died and nine others suffered injury because of delays in diagnosis or treatment through the network that includes…

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A blizzard, jammed phone lines and unreliable websites failed to stop throngs of procrastinating Americans from trying to sign up for health coverage by the midnight Monday deadline for President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy initiative. In Louisiana, wait times for callers lasted up to two hours. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee received nearly 1,900 calls by midday compared with about 800 the previous Monday. And in California, where enrollments surged toward the Obama administration’s original projection of 1.3…

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Florida’s economy is showing signs of continued recovery, but a new analysis prepared by state economists also points to some problems. State economists on Monday released a 29-page snapshot looking at everything from wages to housing prices and unemployment. The good news: Florida was ranked 13th in 2013 in personal income growth and had a rate that exceeded the national average. Growth rates also are returning to more typical levels and consumer confidence is improving, as is building permit activity. But the…

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The University of Florida will pay the company Pearson Embanet an estimated $186 million over the life of its 11-year contract to help launch and manage the state’s first fully online, four-year degree program. The Gainesville Sun reports that it pieced together what UF could wind up paying Pearson based on a business plan presented to the Florida Board of Governors in September, two months before UF Provost Joe Glover and Chief Financial Officer Matt Fajack signed a contract with…

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Lockheed Martin is adding 200 jobs to its Orlando operations. The company announced this week it was adding the jobs to its Mission Systems and Training facility in Orlando. The company already employs about 7,000 workers in central Florida. The new jobs will focus on training and logistics advancements for three fighter jet programs.

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As a roller-coaster sign-up season winds down, President Barack Obama’s health care law has indeed managed to change the country. Americans are unlikely to go back to a time when people with medical problems could be denied coverage. But Obama’s overhaul needs major work of its own if it is to go down in history as a legacy achievement like Medicare or Social Security. Major elements of the Affordable Care Act face an uncertain future: —As a 6-month-long sign-up season…

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Republicans are the party of the rich, right? It’s a label you’re hearing as Democrats complain about GOP opposition to raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits. But in Congress, the wealthiest are more likely to be represented by a Democrat than a Republican. Of the 10 richest House districts, only two have Republican congressmen. Democrats claim the top six, sprinkled along the East and West coasts. Most are in overwhelmingly Democratic states such as New York and California.…

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