Because insurers are overspending on profits and administration instead of medical care, the amount that must be refunded in this state by Aug. 1 tops $54 million. That’s only half of what insurers had to pay in rebates to Floridians last year. Nationally, insurers are refunding $504 million.
Health & Society
After Pledging to End $20,000 Request, Second Harvest Asks Flagler To Double It Instead
Two years ago Second Harvest pledged that the annual $20,000 it was receiving from Flagler County government to pay for a food stamps outreach program would end this year. Instead, the agency today asked the county commission for $40,000.
Rape Crisis Failure:
How the Children’s Advocacy Center Betrayed a Victim at Her Most Vulnerable
After a Flagler Beach woman was allegedly raped on June 14, the Children’s Advocacy Center in Daytona Beach was responsible for providing a certified nurse to conduct an exam and gather evidence in a private setting. It failed on all counts. A FlaglerLive investigation reveals the extent of a failure that local police have been contending with since the center opted to cut its ties with the provider who’d ensured a functioning system for many years.
For Self-Insured, Higher Premiums Ahead But Better Coverage and Lower Out of Pocket Costs
Whether individuals will be better or worse off under those rules depends on their age, health status, where they live – and perhaps most important, whether they end up needing substantial medical care in the coming year. Generally speaking, those who are younger and healthier may pay more than they would have, while older and sicker people are likely to be better off.
Tristan Kaphan, Inspiration to a World, Earns His “Angel Wings” Days After 1st Birthday
Tristan Brayden Kaphan, the Palm Coast boy born with half a heart a little over a year ago, and who had since developed a world of a following as his parents eloquently documented his struggles and triumphs on Facebook, including a heart transplant when he was three and a half months old, died today.
Morning-After Victory on Women’s Reproductive Rights, But Testosterone Policies Persist
Reproductive rights advocates are celebrating the Obama administration’s surrender on the morning-after pill, empowering all women to make their own decisions regarding their own bodies. It’s about damn time, argues Kathleen Joyce, but she warns: don’t let your guard down just yet.
Homelessness in Flagler Persists, But Minor Conflicts Cloud Accomplishments and Services
It’s not that there isn’t a homelessness problem in Flagler and Bunnell, but while numerous and at times generous services are being provided, minor conflicts targeting some homeless people in Bunnell are disproportionately affecting the debate, and draining attention from what’s being done to help.
How Horses Help Patients Cope With Cancer and Other Ailments, Even When Insurers Won’t
It’s not a prescription that a doctor can write. It’s not something insurance will usually pay for. But more patients are finding out how horseback riding, or even just being around the animals, can help them feel better.
Federal Government Approves Florida’s Medicaid Overhaul, Shifting Millions to HMOs
The announcement was a victory for Gov. Rick Scott and Republican lawmakers who approved the proposal to move to statewide Medicaid managed care in 2011, amid controversy about whether the changes would best serve the needs of low-income Floridians.
Rotary’s June 9 Run/Walk Fund-Raiser for Flagler County Free Clinic Looking for Participants
The Rotary Club of Palm Coast is hosting the 7th annual Run for the Free Clinic this Sunday, June 9, 2013, a fund-raising event for the Flagler County Free Clinic, but more participants are needed.
Florida Government’s DCF Looks to Religious Organizations to Recruit Foster Parents
Looking for foster parents, DCF Director of Faith Based Development Erik Braun told child welfare professionals at a conference that Florida has 12 million residents affiliated with a Catholic or Protestant church, 1 million Jews and 400,000 to 600,000 Muslims.
Wanted: Flagler and Florida Foster Parents
With new legislation reforming Florida foster care, good foster parents will be more in demand than ever. And current foster parents say new ones will have a better experience than the old image of foster care might have led them to expect.
Florida’s Surplus Adds Dollars to Services From Mental Health to Rape Crisis Centers
People with disabilities, domestic and sexual violence programs, mental health and substance abuse programs, juvenile justice and children’s services all got bigger budgets for the first time since the recession began.
Ken Mattison Named Florida Hospital Flagler CEO, Switching With Ottati in Swift Succession
Ken Mattison, for 16 years the CEO at Adventist Health’s Florida Hospital Waterman, has been named to take over for David Ottati at Florida Hospital Flagler, a $156 million business with 1,017 employees in 2011. Ottati will assume Mattison’s position at Waterman, a $205 million hospital with 1,879 employees.
Despite Snubbing Obamacare, Florida Gets Thousands of Jobs and Cash from Health Act
Even though Florida officials tried to block the implementation of the Affordable Care Act at every turn over the past three years, the state will gain millions in grants and hundreds of new jobs this year from its implementation.
Florida Hospital CEO David Ottati, Major Force in Local Economy, Leaving for Tavares
David Ottati, the CEO at Florida Hospital Flagler for the past seven years, where he oversaw a vast expansion that increased hospital employment past 1,000 and helped cushion the local economy’s severe downturn of the past few years, will be leaving the hospital to take a new post as CEO of the 269-bed Florida Hospital Waterman in Tavares, in Central Florida, in early June.
Gov. Scott Vetoes Bill Ending Permanent Alimony After Fierce Backlash
Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill that would have ended permanent alimony and limited alimony payments based on income and the length of marriage, a victory for thousands of constituents who’d urged the governor to do just that.
Fat Firefighters Need Not Worry: Body Mass Index Not an Issue in Florida
The Florida House rejected an amendment that would have required all firefighters to keep their Body Mass Index at 25 or under. Above that number, an individual is considered overweight.
Lawmakers Seal $74 Billion Budget Deal, With Merit Teacher Pay and Medicaid Patch
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.
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.
Publix’s Profitable Accommodation With Poverty: Not a Penny More for Tomato Pickers
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been trying for years to get Publix to join the Fair Food Coalition, in which suppliers and purchasers agree to pay the workers a penny more per pound of tomatoes picked. Publix won’t even meet with the workers.
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.
Anti-Abortion Bills Pass Through Angry Debate As Florida Creeps Closer to Embryo Rights
After tense debate that included allegations of lying and large-scale eugenics, the House on Thursday passed a measure banning abortions meant to avoid having a baby of a particular gender or race and criminalized harm of the unborn in the act of harming or killing its mother.
Children and the Boston Marathon Bombing: How to Help Them Cope
With images of the Boston Marathon bombing and stories of the victims looping incessantly on television and in social media, the Florida Department of Children and Families has issued a caution to parents and educators about how to handle coming days with children, and about what signs to be on the alert. Children can start […]
Assailed One Week, Celebrated the Next: Rev. Beth Gardner Honored by County Commission
A week after being “called on the carpet” before the Bunnell City Commission for providing an occasional shelter for the homeless at Bunnell’s First United Methodist Church, Rev. Beth Gardner this evening was honored by the Flagler County Commission for that same mission.
When Deputies Shoot Animals: An Explanation from the Flagler Sheriff’s Office
Responding to a citizen’s concerns, Commander Paul Bovino of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office explains why deputies sometimes shoot animals that are reported sick or injured, and why they don’t take them away in their patrol cruisers.
Florida’s Foster Care System Loosening Up Restrictions While Extending Eligibility to 21
New laws reduce bureaucratic hoops for foster kids and their families who would no longer need approval for certain activities enjoyed by other kids and offer more protection to those nervous of stepping out of its protective wrap.
“Mental Retardation” and “Retarded”
Will Be Excised from All Florida Laws
Florida lawmakers are moving toward erasing the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from myriad state laws, as the word “retarded” has become widely viewed as offensive to people with disabilities.
Bunnell Wants County, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach to Help Solve Its Homeless Problem
Bunnell’s First United Methodist Church is the closest thing Flagler County has to a homeless shelter, but a few residents are critical even of that limited help, claiming it’s blighting the city, while the City Commission wants county government, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach to pitch in for a solution.
Wadsworth Dog Park In Flagler Beach Will Remain Closed Through the Week Over Virus Scare
The dog park at Flagler Beach’s Wadsworth Park is closed until further notice as authorities try to determine whether a dog that contracted the virulent and infectious parvovirus may have been picked up at the dog park. The Palm Coast dog park remains open.
Children’s Week at the Florida Capitol Contrasts With a Dearth of Kids-Friendly Bills
Bottom line: 19.2 percent of adults and 28.4 percent of children are sometimes hungry in Florida, compared to national averages of 16.1 percent for adults and 21.6 percent for children. About 21 percent of Florida children were living below the federal poverty level in 2009.
For Abuse Victims, Navigating Government Help Can Be Another Defeating Challenge
Using stories drawn from real-life cases, participants a Domestic Violence Summit for police agencies in Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putrnam counties tried to understand what it would be like to walk in the shoes of victims coping with the criminal justice system–and discovered the numerous obstacles victims face.
Listen Up Kids: Forget What Your Parents Say. You Should Be Playing Video Games
Alessandra Robinson, a first-place winner among Wadsworth Elementary fifth graders for this speech in this year’s Tropicana competition, argues that video games promote family time, exercise, creativity, problem solving, and better reflexes, and should therefore be encouraged for all.
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.
From “Girls” to Steubenville, It’s Time To Ditch America’s “Rape Culture” for Good
If we’re going to stop having more Steubenvilles, people have to start responding to the current tragedies with more than just passivity, victim-blaming, and claims like, “I’m tired of hearing about rape,” argues Alana Baum.
1.7 Million Floridians Could Get Lower Premiums Under Obamacare, But Don’t Know It
The premium assistance, which begins Jan. 1, will come in the form of tax credits for low- and middle-income workers and their families. The money will flow directly to the patients’ health plans, which simplifies matters and means patients don’t have to come up with cash and wait for reimbursement.
As Local Governments Tackle Candy-Flavored Tobacco, Teen Trends Contradict Alarm
Palm Coast, Bunnell and Flagler Beach have each passed a resolution asking merchants not to sell flavored tobacco products, which are especially appealing to youths, but teen use of tobacco products (including smokeless tobacco) has been on the decline since the mid-1990s.
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.
Bill To Close a Gap in Children’s Health Insurance Stalls as Tallahassee Dawdles
With a third of the annual regular legislative session already gone, a bill that would close gaps in access to health care coverage for Florida children has passed just one committee and appears in danger of not passing.
When Harm in the Hospital Follows You Home, and Changes Your Life
A conversation between some of the 1,550 members of a Patient Harm Facebook community and Dr. Gerald Monk, who specializes in the aftermath of patient harm for both patients and providers. What emerges is a portrait of the long journey that begins after the unthinkable happens.
In the Trenches: Anger and Questions From Doctors Who Treat Gunshot Victims
In Colorado, where more people die from gunshots than car crashes, the victims have a profound effect on the physicians who treat them. For some of the doctors on the front lines, the experiences lead to a strong opposition to guns, questions about gun laws and even activism.
Bill Forbidding Local Governments from Passing Sick-Day Ordinances Advances
The proposed law, by Sen. David Simmons, is intended to thwart efforts to pass labor-friendly laws in local governments, since state-level labor reform is beyond reach with the anti-labor, GOP-led Florida Legislature.
Small Businesses Self-Insure, Evading Obamacare Requirements, and Threatening It
As more small employers avoid the health act’s requirements through self-coverage, small-business marketplaces intended to cover millions of Americans could break down and become unaffordable.
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.
Flagler County’s “Ulympic Games,” Set for April, Are Crying for Participants
Flagler’s “Ulympic Games” feature 10 sports over a week, April 6-13, open to anyone employed by any local government, but as a March 15 deadline approaches, only a few dozen people had registered.
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.