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1/9/2009 © Orlando Sentinel
Bills before the Florida House and Senate today would cut between $170 million and $180 million from Medicaid as part of a package of spending cuts, borrowing and raids on reserve accounts. They come at a time when Medicaid is exploding with applicants because of the deteriorating economy. 
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By Christine Jordan Sexton
1/8/2009 © Florida Health News
TALLAHASSEE -- Early miscues that bedeviled the Cover Florida kickoff this week were only to be expected in a new program of this magnitude, the governor’s health care point man said in an interview Wednesday. David Foy, policy director for Gov. Charlie Crist, promised a big push in coming weeks to let uninsured Floridians know about the plans and help them get signed up.
1/8/2009 © South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Middle-school principal Mark Kaplan, charged with trying to strangle his wife in a bizarre case linked to a sleep disorder, was released Wednesday and allowed to return to his job after the school board said the arrest had no bearing on his work. Kaplan claims his parasomnia keeps him from being aware that he's attacking his wife in his sleep. A University of Miami researcher cites evidence that bolsters his claim.
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1/8/2008 © Palm Beach Post
Dr. Claude Earl Fox, founding director of the Florida Public Health Institute in Lantana, is one of just 20 experts serving on the Obama administration transition team for Health and Human Services. Fox, 62, served in the Clinton administration but reportedly is not interested in moving back to Washington. Transition teams provide Cabinet-level appointees information to help them through the confirmation process and early days on the job. HHS Secretary-designate Tom Daschle began confirmation hearings on Thursday.
1/08/2008 © WWSB-TV
Many seniors who visit the Medicare Web site find getting the information they need frustrating, University of Miami researchers report. It's difficult to navigate and the language is too complex, lead researcher Sara J. Czaja said.
1/07/2008 © St. Petersburg Times
Groups are gathering around the state to push for passage of a bill setting up a prescription-drug registry so that abuse of controlled drugs could be detected. Previous bills seeking such a registry have failed three times. But now, according to speakers at a rally at St. Petersburg College, deaths from prescription drugs outnumber deaths from illicit drugs such as cocaine or heroin by a 3-to-1 margin.
1/08/2008 © Miami Herald
A federal judge sentenced Carlos and Jorge de Céspedes to nine years in prison Wednesday despite pleas for leniency from almost 200 South Florida leaders, who cited the brothers' many contributions to charity. The brothers used their company, Pharmed, to bilk Kendall Regional Medical Center out of $5 million in a scam that lasted 14 years.
1/07/2008 © Tampa Tribune
Ronald Carl, who went to a doctor last July to have a boil lanced, ended up dead from the virulent staph infection methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. His widow has sued Oak Hill Hospital, saying staff and physicians failed to diagnose the problem in time to prevent his death.
1/07/2008 © WTSP-TV
Three years after Edith McQueen was treated at Shands Jacksonville for a stab wound to the neck, an x-ray showed a knife blade still lodged near her spine. McQueen has been suffering from headaches and she can feel the blade through the skin, but she thought it was scar tissue from the wound, her attorney says.
01/07/2008 © St. Petersburg Times
Five years ago a doctor told Steve Franks he had Lou Gehrig's disease and probably had five years to live. Today Franks, 50, is driving around Florida in a black pickup with a trailer stuffed with 150 mannequins to draw attention to what his body -- and others afflicted with the paralyzing ailment -- will become.
1/07/2008 © Palm Beach Post
Diabetes-equipment firm Liberty Medical, one of Port St. Lucie's largest private employers, plans to expand its operations there, creating up to 800 full-time jobs during the next two years. In November, 10.4 percent of the county's workforce was unemployed, up from 6.4 percent the prior year, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.
By Christine Jordan Sexton and Carol Gentry
1/6/2009 © Florida Health News
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida’s ambitious effort to help lower the state’s number of uninsured has gotten off to a bumpy start. On opening day, Monday, the Cover Florida program Web site had no phone numbers or links to application forms. And in an embarrassing gaffe, Gov. Charlie Crist’s office sent out a press release saying the information was up when it wasn't. By Tuesday, information was beginning to appear, but the delays remained unexplained.
 1/07/2008 © St. Petersburg Times
Thousands of nursing home workers are bracing for layoffs, and other health organizations are also moaning about proposed cuts in state funding as lawmakers furiously work at slashing as much as $1 billion from the current state budget. The bulk of the cuts will, however, hit schools, where teachers are already paying for school supplies out of their pockets. Gov. Charlie Crist says his fellow Republicans, who dominate both chambers of the Legislature, are going too far.
 1/07/2008 © Miami Herald
Two officials with Hands on Miami are suspected of embezzling nearly $25,000, even as the well-known volunteer group was laying off four other employees, according to a search warrant filed in Miami-Dade court. It identified them as Bruce Howard Smith, an office manager who was fired in late August, and controller Debbie A. Lightbourn, who resigned a few days later. The organization's volunteers clean beaches, feed the homeless and tutor children.
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Studies
 If you missed PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer this week, you missed a great three-part series, The Uninsured in America. Correspondent Betty Ann Bowser introduces viewers to patients who skip treatment or drugs because they can't afford co-pays, small business owners who feel guilty because they've had to stop offering coverage, and others. But you can still see it online. -- Carol Gentry, Editor
 The blog Medicaid Front Page by health strategist Brady Augustine of Tallahassee has been named to the Health Tech's Blog list of the top 100 health policy blogs. Augustine is a former chief of health systems development for Florida Medicaid and a senior advisor at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Front Page is the only Medicaid blog on the list.
Delay and a long public debate tend to lessen chances of passage for health reform legislation, according to the latest online essay from Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family  Foundation. He cited both the Truman and Clinton efforts, which lost steam as debate in Congress dragged on, giving vested interest groups time to spin the debate and raise the fear factor. Current economic problems present a window of opportunity, Altman says, making the public insecure about losing jobs and coverage. To avoid stalemate, Altman suggests, proponents should "move fast" and get something passed. It can be fixed later.
Pres.-elect Barack Obama and his choice to lead the Health and Human Services department, Tom Daschle, asked Americans to host informal gatherings between Dec. 15 and Dec. 31 to brainstorm how to improve the U.S. health system. We want your ideas, as well, for our new Opinions & Analysis page, which will debut soon. Please send them in. -- Carol Gentry, Editor
 If you want to be ready for the big health-reform debate next year, you've got to do your homework. The Kaiser Family Foundation has compiled primers on private insurance and public programs, including new ones on Medicare and Medicaid, at its Web site.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provides a reminder of the importance of journalism by having toxicologists test 10 common products labeled "microwave-safe." If you read this, you'll never nuke plastic again.
Pinellas insurance broker John Sinibaldi, who helps small employers try to find affordable health coverage, says he laughs at the results on national  surveys of the cost of health insurance. The results don't apply in Florida, he says, where small businesses are the norm. Premium increases for his clients averaged over 20 percent for next year, he said, and deductibles are thousands of dollars. His views are posted at The Health Care Blog.
Next month, at long last, we plan to unveil the newly redesigned and expanded Florida Health News site. We'll introduce Consumer's Corner, a page designed to meet the information needs of those who don't get their paycheck from the health care industry but care passionately about improving access, quality and efficiency. We'll also debut Analysis & Opinion, which will finally give us a place to post editorials, op-ed pieces, columns, and blogs about health issues, along with a daily cartoon. And we'll also have a place to display ads, so please get in touch if your organization wants a good sponsorship spot. Send me an e-mail or call 727-410-3266. -- Carol Gentry, Editor
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