3/16/2010
'Medical Home' Passes Early Test
By Jim Saunders
With
lawmakers moving toward expanding Medicaid managed-care, a House
panel today approved a bill designed to be an alternative --
creating physician-driven "medical homes'' across the state.
The bill, pushed by Rep. Ed Homan of Tampa, an orthopedic
surgeon, has the backing of doctors and hospitals. But it drew
objections from a managed-care industry group.
The
measure would link medical homes to provider-service networks
that, in some parts of the state, are administered by hospitals.
But it also includes potentially controversial moves such as
changing the way Medicaid patients are assigned if they don't
choose health plans -- shifting more to provider-service
networks instead of HMOs (health-maintenance organizations).
Medical homes involve doctors coordinating the care of
patients, making sure they have access to specialists and
preventive services. Supporters say it is a better approach than
expanding requirements for Medicaid recipients to join HMOs.
"I personally think that this is the future of medicine,''
said St. Augustine neurosurgeon Miguel Machado, who represented
the Florida Medical Association today before the House Health &
Family Services Policy Council.
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3/4/2010
Bill
protects ER against lawsuits
By Jim Saunders
Reopening a
political battle about medical malpractice, Florida senators are
considering a bill that would limit the liability of hospitals,
doctors and other workers for emergency-room errors.
The
Senate Health Regulation Committee voted 5-2 this morning to
approve the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. John Thrasher ---
an influential figure who also doubles as chairman of the
Florida Republican Party --- and is backed by groups such as the
Florida Medical Association and Florida Hospital Association.
The bill would extend what is known as "sovereign
immunity'' to hospital emergency rooms. Sovereign immunity,
which normally applies to government agencies, restricts payouts
to injured people or their families to $100,000 or $200,000,
depending on the circumstances.
Thrasher, a St.
Augustine Republican, said he is concerned that hospitals have
difficulty getting physicians in high-risk specialties, such as
neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery, to work in emergency rooms.
He said lawsuit protections would help.
"We need to have
access to these folks,'' Thrasher said.
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Jan. 8, 2010
'Cover FL' sponsor losing money
Health News Florida
One year after Gov. Charlie Crist’s “Cover
Florida” took effect, there are signs that the voluntary
approach to providing affordable health insurance is in trouble.
The largest health insurer in the program says it needs a
30-percent rate increase effective March 1. Without the hike, it
will cost Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida 23 percent more
to pay claims than it would collect in premiums, according to
the rate filing.
The Office of Insurance Regulation denied the initial request on
Jan. 5, saying the information in the filing didn’t justify such
high rates, OIR spokesperson Tom Zutell said in an e-mail to
Health News Florida.
The decision is not final; Blue Cross and Blue Shield could
challenge it or submit a different filing...(continued).
Story Link
Dec. 17, 2009
Health Care (Op-Ed)
Orlando Sentinel
Policy makers are saying that health-care reform will increase
the demand for medical care. That means a lot more patients will
be coming to our emergency departments.
That's because the newly insured will have trouble finding other
physicians to see them. I support universal health care for all
Americans, but it will not solve the problems facing emergency
departments nationwide.
Emergency visits have increased an average of 3 million patients
per year, yet hundreds of emergency departments have closed,
leaving fewer facilities to see patients.
The emergency department where I have practiced medicine for the
past 10 years has seen an increase in visits of more than 10
percent this year.
Though the hospital increased its bed capacity by nearly 50
percent several years ago, there is still considerable
overcrowding in our ER because of admitted patients awaiting bed
availability in the hospital.
Congress needs to look at the facts. Real health-care reform
must address the urgent needs of the 120 million emergency
patients before it is too late.
Wayne S. Barry, DeBary, FCEP Member
2.4M in Florida Would Get Coverage, Group Says
Health News Florida
About 2.4 million people will gain insurance coverage in Florida
by 2019 if the Senate health-care bill passes, according to a
report to be released next week by the consumer health
organization Families USA.
The report, based on a Congressional Budget Office estimate of
the number of people in Florida who will gain health coverage by
2019 under the Senate bill, also details the increase in the
number of Florida residents who would find themselves uninsured
by the same date, should the bill fail.
According to the CBO, 31 million Americans would gain coverage
under the Senate bill by 2019. And the 46 million currently
uninsured will increase to 54 million by 2019 (the last year for
which the CBO includes estimates coverage).
Florida is among the 10 states projected to have the largest
increase in the number of residents with health coverage by
2019, along with Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, North Carolina,
Illinois, Georgia, New York, Texas and California, ranging from
821,000 to 4,527,000. By contrast, if the bill fails, those same
10 states will have the largest losses in coverage, ranging from
212,000 to 1,168,000. Nationally, more than 8 million people
will lose coverage.
Every state stands to gain from the passage of the health reform
bill, according to the Families USA report. On the other hand,
If the Senate does not pass its bill, each state will see a
substantial increase in its uninsured population.
See the full report
HERE.
Dec. 15, 2009
Cover Florida May Not Qualify
Health News Florida
Gov. Charlie Crist’s Cover Florida health insurance plan may not
meet requirements of new federal health laws aimed at boosting
coverage, depending on what version of reform federal lawmakers
come up with, a top state regulator said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, at least one member of the Florida Office of
Insurance Regulation’s Health Insurance Advisory Board on
Tuesday said the panel may serve little purpose and should be
abolished. It includes representatives from the insurance
industry, medical providers, employers and consumers.
Cover Florida, which went into effect in January, wouldn't
satisfy minimum standards of health coverage as currently
written in the plan being debated in the U.S. Senate, state
Deputy Insurance Commissioner Mary Beth Senkewicz told members
of the advisory board during a regularly scheduled meeting on
Tuesday.
Story Link
Dec. 11, 2009
'Fiasco' Leads to DOH Housecleaning
Health News Florida
The physician-prosecution unit at the Florida Department of
Health is undergoing a makeover to get rid of a backlog of
complaints following a “fiasco” in October, top lawyers for DOH
told the Board of Medicine.
The chief prosecutor’s job is now vacant following an apparent
demotion, and Kathryn Price, chief legal counsel for the Medical
Quality Assurance Division, is filling in, said Josie Tamayo,
DOH general counsel.
Price said she acted when she saw that too many complaints were
being settled with insufficient discipline in order to keep down
the backlog of cases awaiting official hearings. As a result,
several cases that board members were prepared to hear at the
October meeting – each one involving a lot of time to study --
were pulled at the last minute, infuriating board members.
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