Karen Cyphers - page 60

Federal Health and Human Service officials are apparently “intrigued” by the alternative plan Florida may pursue in lieu of Medicaid expansion, expressing a desire to be “flexible in its dealings with states”, according to a report by the Miami Herald. Referred to by some as the Negron Plan — and by Sen. Joe Negron as the Florida Plan — it appears that House and Senate leadership are ready to rally around a package that would provide coverage to the same…

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Tenet Healthcare presented Tuesday at the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference held in Miami Beach at the Loews Hotel, calling attention to how much Florida stands to gain or lose through Medicaid expansion and health care reform deliberations. Their presentation included this slide, showing the expected growth in covered lives at each of their hospitals following the expansion of insurance coverage with PPACA health reform, compared to the national average. These projections assume all states implement Medicaid expansion — an assumption…

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In perhaps the first official fraud-shaming initiative, CFO Jeff Atwater will be releasing Florida’s “top dim-witted fraud criminals” throughout the month of March. Announced Wednesday, Atwater believes this initiative will raise awareness of the impact of insurance fraud on consumers, and serve as a reminder to would-be criminals that justice will be served to those caught cheating the system. Florida is a hotbed of Medicare, auto and PIP fraud, workers’ comp fraud, life insurance and disability fraud… you name it. …

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Today, inside the Sistine Chapel, 115 cardinal electors gather to begin the highly guarded process of selecting a new pope – and possibilities remain that the one selected will have Florida ties. Cardinal Sean O’Malley served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach in 2002 and is currently part of the Archdiocese of Boston. According to WFLX, Cardinal O’Malley is fluent in several languages including Spanish and Portuguese and is known for bringing reform to the church, having…

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BlackBerry, formerly Research in Motion, conducts R&D in Florida out of nearly 130,000 square feet in Broward County, but provides service to an ever-decreasing clientele in the wake of Apple and Android’s takeover of the smartphone market.  Florida’s Capitol community may be a stronghold for BlackBerry, but even here, less and less so. For those still loyal to their crackberries, or eager for it to offer something worth returning to, there’s good news:  the long-speculated US release date for the…

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Florida Supreme Court Justices Peggy Quince and Barbara Pariente donated about $30,000 to a liberal activist group that opposed Governor Rick Scott’s appointment of Alan Forst to the Florida 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach.  Credit goes to Sunshine State News for the investigation and report. Forst’s appointment was opposed by the left-wing group “Democracy at Stake”, which was founded to support the retention campaigns of Pariente, Quince, and R. Fred Lewis. Their basis for opposition? Forst’s…

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Session starts on Tuesday, which means three things for Monday: fundraising frenzy before the 60-day curtain falls; last minute roommate arrangements; and the Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) pre-session welcome back reception for legislators, staff and politicos, drawing easily 2,000 attendees each year. Tallahassee reaches full capacity during March and April, bringing some welcome energy to local businesses: Session generates an estimated $2 million per week in economic impact for the city – a figure which could prospectively increase in…

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