National HeadlinesUpcoming EventsBoard of Hearing Aid Specialists Public MeetingJuly 26, 9 a.m., Miami Low Income Pool Council Public MeetingJuly 28,10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Hollywood Department of Children and Family Service Public HearingJuly 28, 1:30 p.m., Tallahassee FL Assn of Community Health Centers & AHEC MeetingJuly 28-30, Bonita Springs, FL Cover Florida: The Unregulated Health Insurance MarketJuly 30, 9 a.m. - 12 Noon, Miami Board of Orthotists and Prosthetists Public MeetingJuly 31, 2 p.m.; Aug.1, 9 a.m., Orlando Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Public MeetingAug. 8, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m, Orlando Board of Pharmacy Professional Practice Committee MeetingAugust 12, 9 a.m., Orlando Board of Pharmacy Rules Committee MeetingAugust 12, 2 p.m. Orlando Empowering Healthcare: A Look at Key ComponentsAugust 13, Ft. Lauderdale Board of Pharmacy Public Meeting August 13, 8 a.m., Orlando 2008 Florida Minority Health Disparities SummittAugust 13-15, Tampa Board of Medicine Credentials Committee Public MeetingAugust 14, 9:00 a.m., Orlando Board of Medicine Anesthesiologist Assistants Committee Public MeetingAugust 14, 9:15 a.m., Orlando Board of Medicine Physician Assistant Council MeetingAugust 14, 9:30 a.m., Orlando Board of Medicine Rules and Legislative Committee MeetingAugust 14, 9:45 a.m., Orlando Board of Medicine Surgical Care/Quality Assurance Committee Public MeetingAugust 14,10 a.m., Orlando Board of Medicine Public MeetingAugust 15-16, 8 a.m., Orlando Board of Medicine Probable Cause Panel- SouthSeptember 12, 2 p.m. Division of Medical Quality Assurance Public MeetingSept. 17, 8:30 a.m. – 12 Noon, Tallahassee Board of Medicine Probable Cause Panel- NorthSeptember 26, 2 p.m. |
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StudiesFreelancer Bill Hirschman -- mysteries, movies and MedicareBill Hirschman, who writes mostly mystery novels and movie reviews, spent 40 years as a newspaper reporter, most recently for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Before tackling the Medicare overbilling story for Florida Health News, he had no experience reporting on health-care finance. But he had covered defense-contract fraud, highway bid-rigging, and marathon School Board meetings. Like Medicare, he said, they were "complicated beyond belief, filled with indecipherable jargon, numbers that never seem to add up, requiring an ability to learn quickly and begging experts to have patience with my learning curve. Feels like home." In health statistics, Florida should thank TexasWhen surveyors from the Center for Health Statistics reports asked people under 65 about their health insurance, Florida had a higher
Report shows how low-cost ideas can save money, prevent illness
'Obese people are the new pariahs'Rob Lambert, a family doctor in Georgia, has won kudos from the New York Times for his fresh insight in a blog called "Musings of a 'Es para todos' -- a health system that works for all
Dear editor: Can we help?Florida Health News, a non-profit, public-interest journalism organization, has agreed to permit bona fide metro and community newspapers to republish our original articles, with proper credit, at no charge (See our previous articles at the tab "Our Stories"). We have taken this action because of the crisis in newsrooms that has forced cutbacks in coverage of important health issues. For permission and details, contact me. -- Carol Gentry, Editor.
How do Obama, McCain health plans stack up?If you want to bone up on the Presidential candidates' health plans, here's an even-handed, well-informed analysis: the Health Care Policy and Marketplace Blog by insurance analyst Robert Laszewski.
Pushing prescriptions: Pharma lobbying sets recordsWashington's largest lobby, the pharmaceutical industry, racked up another banner year on Capitol Hill in 2007, backed by a record $168 million lobbying effort, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of federal lobbying data. The industry got two controversial laws extended and thwarted efforts to restrict advertising. |
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percentage who had been without it for more than a year than any other state except Texas. The survey 
programs, it could save $16 billion annually on medical costs within five years. That's $5.60 to $1. Florida's payoff would be even greater, $6.20 to $1. The report provides examples of low-cost programs with a hefty return on investment, such as keeping schools open after-hours so children can play and providing farmers' markets in low-income areas. There's just one question the report doesn't answer: How to grab that $10 per person from the maw of the $2 trillion medical-industrial complex.
Distractible Mind." The current 
Anyone who assumes that the US must increase spending to provide universal health coverage should take a vacation in Costa Rica, as I did this month. This lovely country, where annual income averages just over $5,000 (US) a year, has achieved a longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality and better scores overall from the World Health Organization than ours while spending a far smaller fraction of its income. How? By investing in the right things: literacy, public 
health, disease prevention and primary care. Costa Ricans take pride in the health system's quality and fairness. "Es para todos," they say. It's for everyone. -- Carol Gentry, Editor