Christine Jordan Sexton - page 47

The Supreme Court of the United States has taken a pass for now on a new Obamacare challenge. King v Burwell did not appear on a list of orders released by the United States Supreme Court on Monday. The suit challenges whether premium tax incentives can be given to people who enroll in Obamacare through a federal exchange or whether they are limited to those who tap into a state run exchange, instead. Florida is one of 34 states not to…

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The Miami Dolphins, Orlando City MLS, Daytona International Speedway, and the Jacksonville Jaguars have submitted a combined $9 million in requests for tax incentives, more than what the state has to spend. South Florida lobbyist Ron Book said the Dolphins application was deemed complete on Friday and that the team is seeking $3 million in the current fiscal year. Gray Robinson shareholder Chris Carmody called the City of Orlando’s response to the application “voluminous.” It is seeking $2 million for…

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In a possible sign that he is prepared to split power among rival factions in the Florida Senate, incoming President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, is creating a second standing committee to addresses state budget issues. In a memo distributed to state senators on September 22, Gardiner said he is creating a Committee on Fiscal Policy that will “provide an alternative path” to the Senate Calendar. Traditionally, bills with any fiscal impact have been heard in the Appropriations Committee. Gardiner said the…

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The number of investors expected to compete for 3,115 new nursing home beds and hospice programs is expected to “significantly” increase in the next week. Investors will have until the close of business Nov. 5 to notify the state Agency for Health Care Administration in writing of their interest to compete for beds in more than 70 percent of the 44 nursing home “subdistricts,” where a need for beds has been identified,  said Sharon Gordon-Girvin, founder of the Girvin Group,…

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Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday took a few minutes out of his re-election campaign to brief legislators on Florida’s preparations on Ebola. Scott did not discuss anything beyond what he has already publicly announced last week including that he will use $7 million in federal grant money to help prepare the state for an Ebola response and that he is requiring all hospitals to teach their employees about Ebola virus. “I want to let you know we are going to…

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Florida’s health maintenance organizations responsible for coordinating health care coverage to the poor, elderly and disabled have been targeted for $556 million in rate reductions under a proposal crafted by the state agency that oversees the Medicaid program. The proposed cuts were outlined in budget documents submitted earlier this month by the Agency for Health Care Administration to the state Legislature. The state’s HMOs are now the prime health care providers responsible for Medicaid under a shift to managed care…

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After a moratorium that lasted more than a decade, it appears that there is a rush in Florida to open new nursing homes. State health care regulators this week received 137 letters from companies that are vying to operate new nursing homes that offer 3,115 beds for patients beginning in 2017 as well as  a handful of hospice programs. The nursing homes are the first new beds the state has authorized since barring any new ones from opening in 2001.…

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