Christine Jordan Sexton - page 44

It’s not a state-created “exchange” as envisioned in the federal health law but it does want to be the “marketplace” where Floridians and small businesses go to purchase health insurance, including so-called Obamacare plans. Florida Health Choices — which has enrolled 49 people since past Spring  when it first started offering discount medical plans and limited benefit plans — will start offering individuals and employers access to qualified health plans, meaning they meet the edicts laid out in the federal…

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A mandate-free health care “marketplace” established by former House Speaker Marco Rubio will start selling plans that are compliant with the federal health care law. But a move to have the marketplace interface with the federal health insurance exchange so low income Floridians can qualify for tax credits hasn’t come to fruition, correspondence from Florida Health Choices Chief Executive Officer Rose Naff shows. In a December 1 letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell…

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Rep. Matt Hudson will be in charge of health care spending in the House of Representatives and the substantive Health and Human Services Committee will be run by Rep. Jason Brodeur. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli released the committee assignments on December 1. In an email to members Crisafulli said he is sure that the committee chairmen will, “truly put Floridians first.” “I have every confidence these committee and appropriations subcommittee chairs will do a great job steering policy and budgetary…

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Legislative leaders quickly put the nix on talk of Medicaid expansion last week while in Tallahassee but members of a bipartisan, growing coalition aren’t listening. The group — A Healthy Florida Works — wants to pump up the volume on the health-care access debate and says 2015 is the year to do it. “I think it’s fair to say you’ll be hearing from from us soon,” said Jennifer Fennell, spokesperson for the group, whose membership includes 500 businesses across the state…

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It could be the quickest meeting ever held. The Agency for Health Care Administration on Monday conducted a rule hearing that was less than five minutes long because no one showed up. The proposed rule, 59G-7.007, implements the health insurance premiums payment program, where the state would use Medicaid dollars to reimburse patients who have access to commercial insurance through their employers. The only attendee at the meeting other than Agency for Health Care Administration staff was Craig Meyer, account…

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The Agency for Health Care Administration has released a list of the 105  applications received by the November 19 for the first new nursing home beds in more than a decade as well as hospice programs. The agency advertised a need for 3,115 beds. In all, the 105 investors submitted applications for 8,859 beds. Here is a list of the applications that were received by the deadline. Certificate of Need Activity Report (Batch Applications)

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The Board of Medicine is steering clear of the ongoing legal fight between attorneys and release of information companies. The board met via teleconference on Thursday to discuss October 31 correspondence from defense attorney Michael Fox Orr advising the board  that rule 64B8-10.003 would be challenged if it wasn’t changed by the end of the year. Upon Board of Medicine legal counsel Ed Tellechea’s advice, the board voted unanimously not to defend the rule in circuit court if it is…

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