About half of the uninsured people in families receiving the earned income tax credit are eligible for significant financial assistance — 4.1 million are eligible for Medicaid, and another 1.1 million are eligible for large subsidies.
Health Care Business
Three Changes You Can Expect In Next Year’s Obamacare Coverage
Ahead: more warning about “surprise” medical bills from out-of-network providers, more standardized out-of-pocket costs and better information about the size of the insurers’ network of doctors and hospitals.
Florida Senators Reject Weakening State’s Regulatory Power in Health Care Expansions
The Senate on Wednesday listened to hospitals, nursing homes and hospice providers and killed a bill that would have weakened the “certificate of need” process that gives the state power to review and approval new health-care facilities.
At Florida Hospital Flagler, an Additional 32 Beds as Facility Grows Beyond Rural Stage
The $15-million, 32-bed addition tips Florida Hospital Flagler past the 99-bed threshold, reducing its Medicare dollars by up to $12 million, but hospital officials see the expansion as meeting local needs.
Health Insurers Moving to Undermine Obamacare By Limiting Enrollment
major insurers are seeking to sharply limit how policies are sold to individuals in ways that consumer advocates say seem to discriminate against the sickest and could hold down future enrollment.
Sanders Revives Talk of Single-Payer System, Contrasting Differences With Clinton
Sanders’ main rival for the nomination, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has criticized the plan for raising taxes on the middle class and said it is politically unattainable.
Even Liberals Should Concede:
Obamacare Is Not Working
Between the rapacity of insurers, GOP assaults and its own flaws, the Affordable Care Act is failing its promise to curb costs and make insurance coverage affordable. Republicans have no alternative. But a better one already exists.
Small Businesses to Obamacare’s SHOP Option: Not Interested
Nationally, about 85,000 people have coverage through the online marketplace known as the Small Business Health Options Program, less than a tenth of original projections.
Citing Abuse, Cigna Pulls Out of Florida Health Marketplace, Affecting 30,000 Clients
Individuals can still enroll in a Cigna plan by seeing an insurance agent. But enrollment through the Marketplace, which begins Nov. 1, is the only way to obtain tax credits that subsidize the cost of premiums.
Risks You Didn’t Know About Tylenol, Because Its Marketing Campaign Didn’t Convey Them
Internal company documents that have emerged in a New Jersey trial that ended Friday make clear that marketing for Tylenol did not convey doctors’ concerns about its risks.
2.8 Million Floridians Still Uninsured Even as Just 20% Fall in Medicaid Gap
It’s 1.1 million fewer than in 2013, but almost a third of the uninsured are eligible for Obamacare but haven’t enrolled, 15% have chosen not to enroll in employee-provided health care, and the rest are uninsured for a variety of other reasons.
The Big Pharma Mafia:
Your Money Or Your Life
Hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli’s decision to raise the price of the lifesaving drug Daraprim from $18 to $750 per pill is emblematic of America’s pharmaceutical industry, where price-gouging is the norm.
Rick Scott, Who Made Millions as Hospital CEO, Now Faults Hospital Costs
The proposals are the latest in a series of moves by Scott, who made millions as CEO of HCA/Columbia, to revamp the hospital industry. The Legislature will have to enact his proposals.
Doctors and Pharmacists Complain: Patients Aren’t Getting Their Pain Meds Fast Enough
Pharmacists complain that distributors are limiting their supply of powerful narcotics, forcing the pharmacists to ration their limited stock to their regular patients.
8.8 Million More People Got Health Insurance Last Year, Largely Due to Obamacare
The increase, due to the Affordable Care Act, is unprecedented since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid 50 years ago. Expanding Medicaid–as Florida did not–would have added to the ranks of the insured even more.
Reporter Kicked Out: When Public Officials Abuse Florida’s Sunshine Law, With Lawmakers’ Blessing
A “health district” run by public officials closes a public meeting under a bogus exemption to the Sunshine law, and gets a blank check to secretly talk about whatever it wishes, though it affects public policy.
Some of Your Privacy Rights Are Waived In Medical Malpractice Lawsuits, Court Rules
The Florida court’s decision stemmed from a controversial 2013 law the Republican-controlled Legislature passed after a lobbying battle between groups such as doctors and plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Subsidies, 6-3, Protecting Benefits For 1.3 Million Floridians
Some 1.3 million Floridians and millions more across the country will not lose their health insurance subsidies as the U.S. Supreme Court this morning ruled decisively, by a 6-3 vote, that the subsidies are legal and must remain in place, even in states that have not established their own health insurance exchanges.
Citing “Competition,” Lawmakers Want Hospitals Deregulated. Hospitals Disagree.
The measure would eliminate what is known as the hospital “certificate of need” process in Florida, which requires state review and approval of building new hospitals, replacing hospitals and offering certain complex, costly medical services such as organ transplants.
Senator Blasts “Hypocritical” House Over Rejecting Medicaid Money While Getting Set to Borrow
Disagreements led Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, to label the House as “hypocritical” for rejecting federal Medicaid expansion funding while being willing to issue bonds to pay for environmental projects.
More Than 1.3M Floridians May Lose Their Obamacare Subsidies, More Than Any Other State
Floridians received at least $389 million in March from the federal government to help pay for their health insurance. The subsidies are at the center of a Supreme Court case challenging the health law. The case will be decided this month.
Proposals: Scrap Hospital Regulatory Process, Give Some Nurses More Power to Prescribe Drugs
House Republicans filed six bills Wednesday that delve into hot-button issues such as getting rid of a regulatory process for new or expanded hospitals and allowing advanced-registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe controlled substances.
Senate Leaders Propose Compromise in Budget Impasse, Gov. Scott and House Reject It
Scott and House Republicans have repeatedly said they have no interest in using Medicaid expansion funds from Obamacare to close a $2.2 billion budget gap and insure more Floridians.
Feds’ $1 Billion Pledge Cuts Florida Health Deficit in Half, Easing Legislative Standoff
If Florida has to instead offset the remaining $1.2 billion deficit for low-income healthcare with tax revenues, that could eat into funding for other priorities, like public education and tax cuts.
One Way to Lessen That Pain: Insurers May Not Charge for Anesthesia in Colonoscopies
Although the ACA health law made it clear that the colonoscopy itself must be free for patients, it didn’t spell out how anesthesia or other charges should be handled.
At Rymfire Elementary, A Medical Lab Radiates School’s Health, Fitness and Science Flagship
Rymfire Elemetary teamed up with Florida Hospital Flagler and the Education Foundation to develop a student-centered medical lab as part of the school’s health-centered flagship program, and showcased it to acclaim Tuesday evening.
Gov. Scott Threatens to Delay Tax Cuts and Education Funding Hike Over Budget Standoff
A roughly $261 per student increase from the current year is at stake, as is a a $690 million tax-cut package, if a health care-fueled budget impasse continues in the Legislature.
Gov. Scott Stacks Hospital Panel Without a Single Hospital Expert in Overt Snub
Scott’s commission is to make recommendations for a special legislative session on health funding scheduled to begin June 1, but it includes beef, housing, real estate, banking and hospitality experts, but no health care executives.
The Florida Legislature MessedUp. Ten Big Issues At Impasse and Beyond.
Lawmakers will come back sometime in May or June for a special session to negotiate and pass a budget. But with the 60-day regular session formally ending Friday, here is where 10 major issues stand.
Google Glass In The ER: Health Care Moves A Step Closer To Cheaper Telemedicine
For a fraction of the cost of current telemedicine technology, Google Glass may give patients and doctors quicker, more accurate referrals to specialists, improving efficiency and care.
Gov. Bizarre: Scott Suing Federal Government Over One Pot of Money Even As He Rejects Another
The lawsuit plays into a heated battle over a Senate plan to use $2.8 billion in Medicaid expansion funding to help lower-income Floridians purchase private health insurance. But the House and Scott — who once favored straight-up Medicaid expansion — oppose that idea.
Geography as Destiny: Hospitals Leave Downtowns For More Prosperous Digs
By moving to wealthier areas, hospitals can reduce the percent of uninsured and lower-paying Medicaid patients, but relocations often spark anger from those left behind, who worry about loss of jobs and of access to care, particularly for the poor.
Fearing Loss of $1 Billion in Federal Aid, Senate Again Considers Medicaid Expansion
Florida’s budget faces an unexpected deficit. Accepting the federal Medicaid money could potentially offset the loss of the Low-Income Pool Funds. But the plan faces stiff opposition.
1.6 Million Floridians, 6,000 in Flagler, May Lose Health Subsidies: Supreme Court Decides
Subsidies may be lost for 90 percent of ACA participants if the U.S. Supreme Court rules that residents of states like Florida, which have no health marketplace of their own, may not qualify for federal subsidies. The Supreme Court hears arguments in the case next week.
Despite Obamacare Rules, Some Contraceptives May Still Require Co-Pay
Even though an unplanned pregnancy would cost an insurer a lot more than the contraceptives to prevent it, some insurers still try to limit what they cover.
Gripes Aside, 6,000 Palm Coast and Flagler County Residents Enrolled in Obamacare as Deadline Approaches
Brisk enrollment in Flagler County and Palm Coast is nevertheless accompanied by individuals’ continued struggles, financial and ideological, over the Affordable Care Act even as Florida leads the nation in Obamacare enrollments, with 1.3 million people, and more expected ahead of the deadline.
How to Easily Navigate Big Changes in Fine Print of Obamacare Plans Before Deadline
Even if you’re getting the same plan — of the nearly 2,800 health plans offered in 2014, about 1,700 of them will exist in the same form next year — their benefits may not stay the same. Here’s an easy way to figure it all out.
Obamacare Snags: He Wants To Be Insured But Still Can’t Afford It.
The law requires all Americans to carry health insurance, but despite subsidies, it isn;t a given that some workers can afford their portion of premium costs. One of those people is Leaburn Alexander
Faith Coleman, Founder of Flagler County Free Clinic and Champion of Grit, Is Dead at 60
Even as she battled a cancer that kept recurring over the past 11 years, Faith Coleman created in the Flagler County Free Clinic one of the county’s most crucial and enduring institutions, which a board of directors now vows to preserve in her memory.
As Large Businesses Look to Dump Employees on Obamacare, Smaller Firms Snub Subsidies
Few employers are embracing a temporary Obamacare subsidy for small businesses while large businesses are hiring brokers to help them shift employees to government-subsidized plans, which the Obama administration says is illegal.
Obamacare 2.0: Open Enrollment Starts With Few Glitches as Floridians Sign Up Over the Weekend
Sharply contrasting with last year’s roll-out, enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, which started Saturday, has gone smoothly, as the federal government expects nearly 10 million insured by the time the window closes in February.
For 1 Million Floridians, Health Insurance Again in the Balance as Supreme Court Rethinks Subsidies
Enrollment and subsidies, along with provisions such as the prohibition on excluding people with pre-existing conditions, are now at risk, because once again, the Supreme Court will decide whether the Affordable Care Act lives or dies.
Florida Hospital Flagler To See Medicare Payments Reduced 0.37% Per Patient, one of 148 Penalized in State
The penalty is intended to jolt hospitals to pay attention to what happens to their patients after they leave and reduce the rate of readmission of Medicare patients.
Canceled Health Insurance: Round 2 Approaching, And It’ll Cost You More
Thousands of consumers who were granted a reprieve to keep insurance plans that don’t meet the federal health law’s standards are now learning those plans will be discontinued at year’s end, and they’ll have to choose a new policy, which may cost more.
Insurers’ Latest Ploy: Shifting Costs to the Sick By Making Them Pay More For Drugs
The Affordable Care Act is designed to forbid it, but health insurers are finding a new way to extract money from policy holders with pre-existing conditions–by steering them to more expensive drugs.
Law Be Damned: Some Insurers Still Refuse to Provide Coverage for Contraceptives
There’s not much leeway for employers and insurers in deciding whether they’ll cover contraceptives without charge and in determining which methods make the cut, yet that hasn’t stopped some from trying.
1 in 6 Big Businesses Planning to Offer “Junk” Health Insurance Below ACA Standards
Many thought such low-benefit “skinny plans” would be history once the health law was implemented. Instead, 16 percent of large employers will offer lower-benefit coverage along with at least one health plan that does qualify under ACA standards.
Average Cost of Silver-Range Insurance Plans Will Decline in Florida Marketplace
About 75 percent of Floridians live in areas where the second-cheapest silver premium will actually decline, said Tasha Bradley, a spokeswoman for the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
Warts and All, Obamacare Saved Me From Bankruptcy
FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam exposes his health care bills before and after Obamacare, and before and after cancer, to show how without the Affordable Care Act, he and his family would have face ruin.
Florida Blue Raising Premiums 17.6% for Exchange Policies as Obamacare Ire Spikes
A dearth of younger and healthy enrollees and a greater-than-expected surge of people seeking expensive health services are factors driving up premiums. A new polls shows disapproval of Obamacare spiking in July.