News & Public Affairs
Healthcare advocates swarm House Speaker Will Weatherford's Wesley Chapel office: VIDEO listen
03/25/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Medicaid, healthcare, Will Weatherford, Affordable Care Act, Obamacare
This month, both chambers of the Florida legislature rejected expanding Medicaid under the federal healthcare law. On Saturday seventy-five activists crowded the small parking lot in front of Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford’s Wesley Chapel office. Activists marched almost a mile along a busy stretch of highway and demanded that Weatherford and other state lawmakers change their minds.
1 comments“I see so many children who need medical care whose parents cannot afford to take them anywhere ...
Students in eight low-income Hillsborough County schools get free dental care listen
02/18/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Hillsborough County Schools, Bryan Elementary, Plant City, dental care, migrant workers, poverty, healthcare
More than 450 students in Hillsborough County have received dental screenings and sealants at no cost to their parents. The new program helps students in eight schools with high poverty levels. It targeted 100 more kids at Bryan Elementary School in Plant City today. Randy Valdez, a dentist and director of Suncoast Community Health Centers said the program is for second graders.
Be the first to comment“Because that’s when they’re at their prime, optimum exposure to decay so we want to cover those first mola...
Dental care is a much needed part of overall health but isn't always affordable listen
12/14/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: dental care, healthcare, Hillsborough County, poverty
With or without insurance, dental care is often neglected in health care decisions because it’s so expensive. But good dental care is about more than just a pretty smile, it’s a vital part of overall health.
“From a medical standpoint, there’s a link between poor dental care and systemic problems – heart attack, strokes, cancer – so we’re doing our part to alleviate that.”
T. Merrell Williams is a dentist at his own private practice on N. Armenia in Tampa. He said those illnesses can...
1 commentsHealth advocacy groups want feds to implement parts of the healthcare law in Florida listen
11/29/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Kathleen Sebelius, Obamacare, Affordable Care Act, healthcare, Progress Florida, Florida CHAIN, Darden Rice, ACA
Florida has until December 14 to show they will be ready to implement federally mandated changes to health insurance by January, 2014. During a conference call today advocates said the state won’t have time to create efficient health insurance exchanges mandated by the Affordable Care Act.
The exchanges will be a competitive market place where patients can shop around for health insurance. The process has been likened to travel planning websites like Travelocity that give consumers a go...
Be the first to commentPresident Obama in Ybor tells voters he has kept promises and is making some new ones listen
10/25/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, 2012 election, healthcare, Affordable Care Act, jobs
President Barack Obama rallied 8500 supporters in Ybor City early this morning as part of his final push to win a second term in the White House. The president has released a detailed jobs plan for the next four years he says is a huge jump on Romney’s plan, which Obama claims Romney won’t talk about.
According to the jobs plan on the campaign website, Obama’s plan would cut $4 trillion from the national deficit. He says it combines spending cuts with some ...
Be the first to commentIn Seminole Obama says voters have a choice to make listen
09/10/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Barack Obama, 2012 election, Democrats, education, healthcare, LGBT, Charlie Crist, Kathy Castor
At an impassioned grassroots speaking event, President Barack Obama told voters they have an obvious choice to make. Speaking to a crowd of thousands at the St. Pete College Seminole campus on Saturday, the president wooed the crowd with a combination of wit and optimism.
Hot on the heels of his Democratic nomination acceptance speech in Charlotte, Obama reiterated some of his priorities in office. In sync with the day’s venue, Obama criticized Republicans for wanting to “gut” education....
Be the first to commentSome military veterans oppose Mitt Romney's plan for benefits listen
08/15/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Veteran's Affairs, military, healthcare, veterans
A group of Veterans from across the state and country spoke out for the first time against the presumptive Republican nominee at the Bay Pines Veteran’s Administration building in St. Petersburg this morning. About a dozen people waved flags and signs to let passing motorists know that Mitt Romney wants to change the way past and current service members get care. Ken Woods, president of the Tampa Bay area Teamsters union said the plan to make veterans use vouchers to get medical care will m...
Be the first to commentAffordable Care Act affirmation celebrated in Tampa listen
06/29/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Affordable Care Act, Barack Obama, healthcare, Mitt Romney, Supreme Court
Some supporters of the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the healthcare law held signs in front of the Federal Courthouse in Tampa today. The group of 25 people thinks the new law will make Americans healthier.
One of the most celebrated components of the healthcare law is the pre-existing condition provision. It keeps insurance companies from denying coverage to someone who has an ongoing illness. Ariel Fernandez is a Cuban immigrant and he has epilepsy. He said he’s had insurance since...
1 commentsIn St. Pete House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer joins with congressional candidate to express support for Medicare listen
05/23/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Jessica Ehrlich, Steny Hoyer, seniors, healthcare, Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Ryan budget, healthcare reform
Democrats in Congress are worried about a Republican-led budget proposal that would cut funding to Medicare. During a roundtable discussion this morning in St. Pete, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer joined a local congressional candidate to tell a small group of Pinellas County seniors that conservative initiatives in Congress would be detrimental to retirees and their families.
After working for both a Democrat and a Republican in Washington, congressional candidate Jessica Ehrlich has ...
1 commentsTampa Bay Partnership group gives state legislators some economic development advice listen
05/08/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Florida Legislature, Tampa Bay Partnership, healthcare, Medicaid, Medicare, transit, transportation, light rail
During a meeting at the Tampa Bay Times Forum today, State legislators representing the region were given a list of issues members of the Tampa Bay Partnership thought should be made priorities. With Pinellas County considering a sales tax referendum for transit improvements, one group of business professionals told the 26 elected officials to ignore the “No Tax for Tracks” campaigns. Barry Alpert, managing investment director for Raymond James, said 40 years ago he could tell potential profe...
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