News & Public Affairs

Consumer health care advocate decries proposed Medicaid changes listen

06/15/11 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Medicaid, Joe Negron, Rick Scott, health care reform

As you just heard, this week, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration is holding hearings throughout the state to get public input on sweeping changes to the state’s Medicaid program. Hearings have attracted hundreds in places like Jacksonville and Palm Beach, and there was reportedly a standing room only crowd at one in Largo today. Ahead of tomorrow’s Tampa hearing, we spoke with Laura Goodhue, Executive Director of Florida Community Health Action Information Network, or CHAIN. She ...

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Impact Of Governor Scott's Budget On Low And Middle Income Floridians

02/09/11 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Alan Stonecipher, Rick Scott, state budget, low and middle income people, education funding, Medicaid, child care, poverty

Good morning welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. The St. Petersburg Times reported this morning:

"Gov. Rick Scott’s bold budget plan wasn’t even 24 hours old Tuesday before state legislators started ripping it apart and leveling a familiar charge against the governor: He wasn’t forthcoming with details.

"Whether it was his billions in cuts to Medicaid or to schools, legislators said they weren’t sure what Scott specifically wanted to do in his budget, which would further widen...

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McCollum Linked to WellCare Case - Attorney listen

10/05/10 Kimberly Vlach
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Tags: WellCare, fraud, McCollum, healthcare, Medicaid

The attorney representing the main whistleblower in the Federal civil lawsuit against WellCare Health Plans has filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court, asking to bar Attorney General Bill McCollum from making any decisions on the proposed $137.5 million settlement. Why? They say McCollum failed to investigate more than $400 million in fraud against Florida’s Medicaid program due to a "conflict of interest."

"We’d sit in this room and think about the leadership’s bonuses…and we’d ...

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Outgoing Sen. LeMieux says spending is the problem listen

08/13/10 Mabili Ajani
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Tags: George LeMieux, Stetson College of Law, Mel Martinez, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Afghanistan War, Iraq war

U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, and the the Arlington, VA-based Concord Coalition, hosted the "Fiscal Solutions Forum" in Orlando and Tampa on Wednesday.

Republican Sen. George LeMieux was appointed to complete Sen. Mel Martinez term and will not be on the ballot in November’s election. In his short time in office LeMieux proposed a constitutional amendment that would require a balanced federal budget; a bill that would temporarily reduce payroll taxes of employees and employers; and legislation...

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Senate Health Bill ready for a final vote tomorrow listen

12/23/09 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: health care reform, health care, Senate, Medicaid, Medicare

Late this afternoon the U.S. Senate voted 60-39 to end the debate on the health care reform bill. The final vote on the senate bill will be tomorrow at 7AM. Some of the concessions won by lawmakers and interest groups in the healthcare overhaul bill have been called sweetheart deals, and came under fire during the debate. Republican Senator John Cornyn criticized deals given to Democratic Senators Bill Nelson of Florida and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Republican Judd Gregg of New Hampshire sai...

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Medicare expert on end-of-life counsleling proposal listen

08/14/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Medicaid, Medicare, senior citizens

As President Obama continues to campaign for health care reform, a false rumor is circulating that the President and Democrats were seeking to implement "death panels," with bureaucrats making decisions about whether elderly or seriously ill patients live or die. The allegation stems in part from a provision in a bill passed by three House committees that would provide Medicare reimbursement to patients seeking end-of-life counseling.

Yesterday, lawmakers working on the Senate version said...

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Medicare expert: end-of-life counseling issue wildly distorted listen

08/13/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Medicaid, Medicare, senior citizens

In the past week, controversy over a particular provision in a House bill to overhaul the health care system has been dominating the headlines.

The provision would require Medicare to pay physicians to counsel patients once every 5 years. During those sessions, doctors could discuss how patients can plan for such end-of-life decisions as setting up a living will, obtaining hospice care or establishing a proxy to make their health decisions when they are unable to do so.

Yesterday Iowa ...

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State report: Medicaid Reform experiment unsuccessful listen

06/19/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Medicaid

According to a new report, Medicaid reform has not proven it can save money, has not improved medical care for patients and has not given patients more choices.

Because of that, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability says Governor Charlie Crist and the state Legislature should not expand the reform beyond its experimental population of 200,000 adults and children in Broward County and the Jacksonville area.

According to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, the ...

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Report: Florida may get nearly $2 Billion in new Medicaid funding listen

12/15/08 Mitch E. Perry

Tags: Medicaid, Barack Obama, budget cuts, health care

According to a new report, Florida could receive $1.8 billion in new Medicaid funds from the federal government if the economic stimulus bill is approved by Congress early next year.

The health care advocacy group Families USA predicts such an increase will bring 34,000 new jobs to the state.

Ron Pollack is the executive director of Families USA. He listed the average breakdown between Washington and the states when it comes to Medicaid funding, and how the new legislation will bring m...

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Success of Medicaid reform questioned listen

12/08/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Legislature, Jeb Bush, Medicaid

Last week Jeb Bush shook up the political world with news he is thinking about running for the U.S. Senate seat Republican Mel Martinez will vacant in 2010.

If Bush runs, his record may get a closer vetting than when he left office two years ago with high approval ratings.

One policy that might be examined is Medicaid reform. In 2005, Bush signed legislation aimed at reforming Medicaid, the health insurance program for more than two million low-income families and individuals. Origin...

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