Under the deal on teacher pay raises, one of Gov. Rick Scott’s top two priorities, teachers rated as “effective” would receive a raise of at least $2,500, while those rated “highly effective” would get $3,500. The raises wouldn’t be paid out, though, until June 2014.
Medicaid and Medicare
Florida House Rejects $50 Billion in Federal Medicaid Help, Opting for Stingy Alternative
Florida’s rejection of federal aid for the expansion of Medicaid leaves the state with a bare-bones alternative to provide health care for the poor and uninsured while setting a defining marker against Obamacare and the federal vision of health care reform.
So Long, Teeny Weeny Bean Plan: Skeletal Health Plan for Florida’s Poor Is Dying
Sen. John Thrasher says he doubts Sen. Aaron Bean’s small-budget plan for some of Florida’s low-income uninsured will get a floor vote. Bean’s plan was criticized as not much of a plan at all, as it would have cost beneficiaries more than they might have benefited.
Weekend Toil: Florida Lawmakers Contend With Significant Budget Differences
Some of the highest-profile issues, from a difference over teacher pay raises to how to structure a major change in Medicaid reimbursements, remained unresolved with a Tuesday deadline looming before legislative leaders take over the negotiations.
Sen. Aaron Bean’s “Health Choice Plus” Plan for Florida’s Poor: Flimsier Than a Band-Aid
What kind of health coverage can you buy for $20 to $30 a month? None. That may sum up the real-world prospects for Health Choice Plus, the plan for low-income uninsured Florida adults that State Sen. Aaron Bean’s committee approved Tuesday along party lines.
For Florida’s Poorest 600,000, a Stingy Health Care Proposal that Cuts to the Bone
The latest proposal to provide health care to Florida’s poorest snubs federal money while creating limited health accounts the poor may tap, but for limited services, and with burdensome conditions of employment–and premiums that most may not be able to afford.
Florida Speaker Weatherford’s Homeschool Blinders to the Poor and Uninsured
Rather than worship his homeschooling past, what Will Weatherford needs to be wondering is what Florida will be like if its 4 million uninsured citizens continue to go without health coverage, argues Rhonda Swan.
With 1 in 5 Floridian Uninsured, Backers of Broader Coverage Want Lawmakers to Act
Although Florida lawmakers have made it known they have no intention of going along with an expansion of Medicaid under the federal health care law, legislative leaders say they’re open to crafting an alternative that would find some way to expand health care coverage to many more uninsured as the law envisions.
Florida Senate Kills Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion, But 3rd-Way Alternative Remains
Florida lawmakers say they want to pursue an alternative plan, possibly expanding Healthy Kids, that would use federal money to help uninsured low-income people get coverage through private insurers. Democrats are not entirely opposed.
Obamacare’s 10-Year Cost to Florida: $5.2 Billion, a Fraction of Planned Expansion
The state’s share would only be a fraction of the $55 billion overall expansion cost, with the federal government paying the rest. Under the law better known as Obamacare, Washington would pay 100 percent of the expansion costs during the first three years and gradually reduce that share to 90 percent in 2020.
Snubbing Scott and Billions in Federal Aid, Florida House GOP Reject Medicaid Expansion
Only a few hours after Florida’s chief economist said the state can’t afford to leave billions of federal dollars sitting on the table, the House committee on the Affordable Care Act voted to do exactly that.
How Mom’s Death Changed My Thinking About End-of-Life Care
None of his years of reporting had prepared Charles Ornstein for this moment, this decision–whether, and when, to let his mother die. In fact, he began to question some of his assumptions about the health-care system.
From Bankruptcy to Granny Nannies: Navigating the Shoals of Long-Term Care
Long-term care insurance is expensive, but the costs of long-term care are far more so. The experiences of local residents and businesses contending ding with reality almost everyone will eventually face illustrate the dilemmas of aging in a society with a meager safety net. A special report.
In Major Shift, Scott Endorses Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion, But Legislature Balks
The announcement was a dramatic move for the Republican governor, who launched his political career as an outspoken critic of President Obama’s efforts to overhaul the health-care system. The announcement also shifts the focus of the contentious Medicaid debate squarely to the Legislature, which would have to approve any expansion.
The Missing Link in Ever-Rising Health Care Costs: Personal Responsibility
Car insurance costs go down when drivers drive responsibly for a few years. A similar approach to health care could help bring costs down, but first, Milissa Holland argues, people must take responsibility for their own health and lifesrtyles–and the way they seek out medical help: the ER is usually not the answer.
Medicare Advantage Works As Long As You’re Healthy, But Boots Off Neediest Patients
People leaving medicare Advantage for traditional Medicare are have higher levels of significant health problems, fueling concerns that the private plans cater to more profitable, healthy beneficiaries but don’t provide the most attractive care for the very ill.
For Children’s Advocates, Scott’s “Florida Families First” Budget Blurs Reactions
Backers of early childhood education and an expansion of Medicaid were disappointed, educators were guardedly happy about raises, and others applauded more money for prevention services to keep youths out of the juvenile justice system, plus $145,360 for juvenile health and mental health.
The Problem With Florida’s Medicaid Program Isn’t Cost. It’s Too Many Working Poor.
Florida has too many working poor whose employers don’t provide health insurance. Rather than complaining about the costs of coverage, we should try to increase the earnings of our people, argues Rick Outzen.
State Health Agency Corrects Inflated Costs of Obamacare Scott Had Used to Oppose Reform
Florida’s costs could be as low as $3 billion over 10 years — a huge drop from the nearly $26 billion figure that AHCA produced in a report last month. Even with the changes, it appears that the Scott administration believes that the state’s final tab over 10 years would be higher.
Spying on Grandma: Health Companies Sell Surveillance as a Benefit and a Saving
Health care is joining a national trend toward greater surveillance of everyday life. Whether this costly technology will ultimately prove clinically or economically effective remains uncertain. So, too, is whether a benign health care purpose can help overcome the unsettling “Big Brother” overtones.
One-Fifth of Florida’s Nursing Homes Are On the State’s Watch List for Violations
Twelve of the homes have been on the the state Agency for Health Care Administration’s watch list for more than 100 days. The best way to pick a home for a loved one is to simply visit it, or to check a nursing home inspection database (link included).
Quality Concerns as Florida Medicaid Moves Millions of Poor and Elderly to Managed Care
Senior said much of the state’s negotiations with federal officials have focused on safeguards to make sure that Medicaid’s new Florida version would be based on providing services in people’s homes and communities and would not be a “nursing home light” system..
Obamacare or Bust: U.S. Tells Florida to Either Expand Medicaid or Lose Out on Billions
Under Obamacare the federal government would pay 100 percent of the cost of the expanded eligibility from 2014 through 2016. Florida and other states questioned whether the federal government also would cover the full costs for a partial Medicaid expansion. The Obama administration said no.
Seniors Are Overspending on Medicare’s Prescription Drug Plan
Seniors spent on average $368 more than they needed to on drug coverage through Medicare Part D plans, their decisions complicated by the sheer volume of plans available–1,736 in all–and difficulties involved in determining what makes a plan a good choice, a Health Affairs study finds.
How Nursing Homes Get You: Signing Away Your Right to Sue
Signing arbitration agreements at nursing homes prevent families from suing the home should something go wrong. Agreeing to arbitrate is generally not in families’ best interests. It’s expensive, proceedings are secret, and nursing homes have the advantage.