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Rene Garcia - page 4

Balance billing measure clears 2nd Senate panel

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A Senate panel on Tuesday OK’d a measure that would ban the practice of ā€œbalance billing,ā€ when insurance companies often unexpectedly slam a customer with a high bill for using an out-of-network health care provider. The measure (SB 1442), carried by GOP state Sen. Rene Garcia of Hialeah, now moves from the Banking and Insurance Committee to Appropriations. The vote was unanimous:Ā 11-0. Garcia’s aim is to getĀ patients out from between the provider and the payer, meaning health insurance companies. A…

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Advocates of elected Education Commissioner launch website to “bug” lawmakers

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A group pushing to get the Commissioner of Education post to back on Florida ballots unleashed a web page Monday thatā€™ll help voters bug every lawmaker in the state. Fund Education Now created the page so Floridians could urge their representative to vote for HB 767, sponsored by Vero Beach Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield, which would put an initiative to bring back an elected education commissioner on the 2016 ballot. ā€œFloridaā€™s experiment with an appointed Commissioner of Education has robbed…

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Senate committee passes 2 key bills expanding health care access

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Bills that would iron out rules for direct primary care contracts and encourage healthcare companies to give free health care to low-income Floridians passed the Senate Committee on Health Policy Monday. SB 1144, sponsored by Niceville Republican Sen. Don Gaetz, would allow new medical facilities to bypass a lengthy review process known as ā€œcertificate of needā€ if they commit to giving free health care to low-income patients. ā€œThis regulatory framework promotes access to care, while protecting safety net providers from…

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Senate health care panel narrowly advances CON, balance billing changes

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Monday afternoon, the Senate Health Policy Committee narrowly approved a pair of closely-watched health care bills, with exchanges between lawmakers that predict much more debate will still be to come. Bills weakening the state’s “certificate of need” regime for hospital licensure, and shielding patients from a medical collections practice known as “balance billing” each passed by votes of 6-3 and 5-4, respectively. Former SenateĀ Don GaetzĀ joked his SBĀ 1144Ā was simply anĀ “another uncontroversial bill” after the panel approved a number of relatively minor…

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Senate panel approves term limits extension resolution

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Voter-approved term limits, perhaps even more than the advent of minority-access districts or the lobbyist gift ban, have radically transformed legislative business in Tallahassee. Their enactment during the Gov.Ā Jeb BushĀ administrationĀ turned future election cycles into rigid leadership game theory boards and, some say, placed a limit on the institutional knowledge of lawmakers, who often become lame ducks just as they master the process. Members of a Senate elections panel approved a resolution to ask voters to increase the maximum consecutive years…

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No. 1 priority for Independent Business group is commercial rent tax cut

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A 1 percent cut in the commercial rents sales tax tops the list of legislative priorities for the National Federation of Independent Business, the small-business lobbying group announced Tuesday. ā€œIn 2016, weā€™re focusing on giving back to our stateā€™s economic drivers and helping clear the way for job creators to own, operate and grow their businesses,ā€ said NFIB Florida Executive Director Bill Herrle. ā€œAs a result, tax cuts for small businesses are at the top of our list, and NFIB…

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Rene Garcia proposes tax holiday to help small businesses

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State Sen. Rene Garcia has again filed legislation to create a “Small Business Saturday sales tax holiday.” The bill (SB 1236) was filed Wednesday for the 2016 Legislative Session. The Miami Republican filed a similar billĀ for last sessionĀ but it and a House companion died in committees. The idea hasĀ been supportedĀ by the National Federation of Independent Business, saying it would “encourage consumers to patronize their local independent businesses during the yearā€™s busiest shopping weekend.” The tax holiday would be next Nov.…

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