Kelli Kennedy - page 3

Former Gov. Charlie Crist laid out his plan Tuesday to boost the middle class, promising to raise the minimum wage, increase funding for public schools and expand Medicaid if he’s elected. Crist, a Republican turned Democrat, says one of the first things he’ll do if elected is call a special session to expand Medicaid to roughly 1 million Floridians, which would draw down about $50 billion in federal funds over the next decade and also help the state’s economy by…

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Eight insurance companies are raising the price of health plans and three are lowering them in Florida through the Affordable Care Act exchange, state insurance officials said Monday. But whether you’ll pay more or less depends on a complex formula including where you live and how companies are competing in that market. Fourteen companies, including three new insurers, are planning to sell to Floridians through healthcare.gov in 2015. Of the 11 returning plans, eight filed average rate increases ranging from…

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State insurance officials are preparing to release figures next week on how much health plans will cost under the Affordable Care Act for 2015, and rate increases seem inevitable as insurers say their new consumers are older and sicker than anticipated. Top executives at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida and Cigna said rate increases are likely but declined specifics. Humana proposed an average 14.1 percent increase for its HMOs, which the company said was driven by factors including…

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A federal judge refused Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges Florida provides inadequate care to children in its Medicaid program, despite state claims that privatizing the program will resolve many of the problems. The state argued that a massive statewide overhaul to privatize Medicaid will raise reimbursement rates, improve doctor participation and address allegations that children can’t get doctor appointments. Attorneys for the state said the lawsuit, which was filed nine years ago, has become moot because of the…

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More than 8,500 new patients are still waiting for initial medical appointments at six VA hospitals and clinics throughout Florida 90 days or more after requesting them, with the longest wait list at the Gainesville facility, according to an audit released Monday by the Veterans Affairs Department. Additionally, more than 5,000 who enrolled at Florida VA facilities over the past 10 years have never had appointments. The audit of 731 VA hospitals and outpatient clinics around the U.S. found that…

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Two health organizations filed a complaint with federal health officials Thursday alleging some Florida insurance companies are violating the Affordable Care Act by structuring their insurance plans in a way that discourage consumers with HIV and AIDS from choosing those plans. The National Health Law Program and The AIDS Institute said four insurance companies offering plans in Florida through the federal online exchange required HIV and AIDS patients to pay a percentage of their often expensive drugs instead of a…

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A man who spent 21 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing his seven children might be compensated by the state more than 40 years later under a bill passed by the Legislature. The Senate voted unanimously late Friday for a bill that changes a law that compensates wrongfully incarcerated prisoners so that James Richardson can be paid more than $1 million. The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Scott. Bill sponsor Sen. Geraldine Thompson of Orlando said…

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