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Christine Jordan SextonApril 26, 2015

Health care financing isn’t the only unresolved issue heading into the final week of the 2015 Legislative Session. A significant amount of health care policy — from deciding the role advanced registered nurse practitioners should have in an ever-evolving delivery system to whether doctors should be allowed to override insurance companies and HMOs as they […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 25, 2015

The House and Senate exchanged and rejected budget offers on Friday and with one week left in the Session the two chambers continue to disagree over how to finance health care and whether 800,000 working Floridians should receive health care access. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said if the chambers cannot find a “reasonable approach to […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 24, 2015

The House has rejected the Senate’s proposal to extend the session until June 30. Instead, on Friday it increased its offer to $600 million in contingency funding to pad the loss of supplemental Medicaid funding if the Senate would back away from its push to expand Medicaid to low-income working Floridians. The money would draw […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 24, 2015

The Florida Senate has not backed off its position that working uninsured Floridians need to have access to health insurance and that the Medicaid supplemental program known as Low Income Pool should remain intact. In a counteroffer to the House’s offer to put $200 million into health care financing the Senate held firm on its […]

Ryan RayApril 24, 2015

As is the case with so many other issues – not least of which is the $4 million budget chasm stemming from inter-cameral differences on hospital funding for indigent services – the House and Senate still seem to be quite a ways off from passing anything resembling a unified ride sharing bill to govern firms […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 23, 2015

With just one week left in the regular legislative session the House on Thursday offered to spend $200 million in general revenue to help fund hospitals in the absence of the federal Low Income Pool. “It is a proposal that is on their desk right now,” House Speaker Steve Crisafulli told reporters as he announced […]

Frank TorresApril 23, 2015

Titusville Republican state Rep. Tom Goodson announced this morning that he will be running for District 51 in 2016, instead of the District 50 seat he’s currently in. He will be running to succeed House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, the Republican from Merritt Island. “I look forward to moving back to my home in Rockledge,” Goodson said in a statement. […]

Daniel TilsonApril 22, 2015

Gov. Scott finally got busy addressing big issues this week. Not serious, mind you, just busy. Lots of finger-pointing, no problem-solving With President Barack Obama visiting South Florida and using the Everglades as backdrop to observe Earth Day, Scott refused the White House’s invitation to participate. Why risk hearing any inflammatory words or phrases. Climate […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 21, 2015

The 2015 session of the Florida Legislature came crashing down Tuesday as both House and Senate Republicans calcified their positions regarding hospital funding and Medicaid expansion. The impasse prompted Gov. Rick Scott to finally weigh in late in the day, saying he will call lawmakers back into special session if they can’t quickly resolve the […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 17, 2015

Senate President Andy Gardiner has scheduled a Tuesday workshop for senators to brush up on the Medicaid issues that have brought the session to a standstill. In a Friday memo to senators, Gardiner said he asked Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Lee to use the first portion of his all-day meeting to discuss Low Income […]

Tag: Steve Crisafulli

Can health care issues pass though Medicaid bogs down Session?

Offers fly but still no budget agreement

House offers Senate $600 million to walk away from Medicaid expansion

Senate counters House with Medicaid expansion; other health care items may be in play

House Uber bill TP’d, resolution with Senate still uncertain

House offers $200 million to Senate to revive budget talks

Tom Goodson to run for House District 51 in 2016

Daniel Tilson: In Rick Scott's Florida, if the flooding doesn't get you, lack of health insurance will

Facing budget train wreck, Rick Scott offers “continuation” plan

Andy Gardiner calls for meeting on Medicaid funding options