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dental care

Takeaways from Tallahassee – The (veto) pen is mightier than the (legislators’) sword

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And so it goes, another attempt to change the state’s alimony regimen, down in flames. This year’s bill (SB 668) was complicated by the addition of language from another measure in the 2016 Legislative Session. It would have changed the beginning assumption of child custody (or “time-sharing”) to 50/50 between spouses. And that is what killed it, thanks to state Sen. Tom Lee, a Brandon Republican. He pushed that language, which came from a bill of his (SB 250) that…

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Rick Scott vetoes dental care program for the poor

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Gov. Rick Scott Thursday vetoed legislation that could have helped poor and rural Floridians get dental care, saying it held too much potential for abuse of public dollars. The bill (HB 139), filed by state Rep. Travis Cummings, had been passed unanimously by both chambers of the Legislature in the 2016 Legislative Session. It created a grants program aimed at dentists to serve patients in counties with a shortage of dentists or in otherwise “medically underserved areas.” The grants, anywhere from $10,000…

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Controversial dental bill clears Senate, now heads to governor

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A bill that may change how Medicaid programs provide dental care to children is headed to the governor. The Florida Senate on Monday voted 35-2 to approve a measure (HB 819) could remove dental services from the list of minimum benefits under the state’s Medicaid managed care plans. Among other things, the bill requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to implement a statewide Medicaid prepaid dental health plans. It also calls for the state to prepare a report looking…

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House panel kills bill to change Medicaid dental programs for children

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On Tuesday, a Florida House panel killed a bill attempting to overhaul the Florida Medicaid program that provides dental care to children. With a 6-6 tie, the House Health Innovation Subcommittee shelved HB 601, filed by Tequesta Republican state Rep. MaryLynn Magar. In the state’s new Medicaid managed-care structure, HMOs and other plans are responsible for offering dental care services to children in the system. HB 601 sought to take pediatric dental services away from the broader Medicaid managed-care program, and…

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