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Board of Hearing Aid Specialists Public Meeting
July 26, 9 a.m., Miami
Miami Beach Resort and Spa
For details, call (305) 532-3600
Low Income Pool Council Public Meeting
July 28,10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Hollywood
Memorial Regional Hospital, Main Auditorium, 3501
For details, contact Edwin Stephens at (850)413-8067 or Suncom 294-8067, stephene@
ahca.myflorida.com
Department of Children and Family Service Public Hearing
July 28, 1:30 p.m., Tallahassee
1317 Winewood Blvd., Bldg. 3, Rm. 455
For details, contact Pat Whitford at (850)410-3479
FL Assn of Community Health Centers & AHEC Meeting
July 28-30, Bonita Springs, FL
Hyatt CocoPoint
For details, contact Heidi Updike Butler at heidi@fachc.org or visit www.fachc.org
Cover Florida: The Unregulated Health Insurance Market
July 30, 9 a.m. - 12 Noon, Miami
RSVP/Details: Roxannep@hscdade.org or 305-576-5001 x12
Board of Orthotists and Prosthetists Public Meeting
July 31, 2 p.m.; Aug.1, 9 a.m., Orlando
Crowne Plaza Orlando Universal
For details contact Joe Baker, Jr. by accessing www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/orth Pros/index.html.
Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Public Meeting
Aug. 8, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m, Orlando
The Grand Bohemian Hotel
For details, contact Suzanna Kelly at (850)245-4045,
or Suzanne_Kelly@doh.state.fl.us
Board of Pharmacy Professional Practice Committee Meeting
August 12, 9 a.m., Orlando
Orlando Airport Marriot
Also available on Conference Call: (888)808-6959; code: 5642037
For information, contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850)245-4292. The agenda will be available at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy, two weeks prior to the meeting.
Board of Pharmacy Rules Committee Meeting
August 12, 2 p.m. Orlando
Orlando Airport Marriot
Also available via conference call: (888) 808-6959; code: 5642037
For details, contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850)245-4292. The agenda will be available at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy, two weeks prior to the meeting.
Empowering Healthcare: A Look at Key Components
August 13, Ft. Lauderdale
Signature Grand
Contact Scott Langdon, 407-425-9500, scott@flhcc.com or visit www.flhcc.com for details
Board of Pharmacy Public Meeting
August 13, 8 a.m., Orlando
Orlando Airport Marriot
For details, contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850)245-4292.The agenda will also be available one week prior to the meeting date at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy.
2008 Florida Minority Health Disparities Summitt
August 13-15, Tampa
Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
For details, contact Susan Smith at (850) 245-4111 or visit www.doh.state.fl.us/Minority/
index.htm
Board of Medicine Credentials Committee Public Meeting
August 14, 9:00 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Hotel
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Shamyah Gibson at shamyah_gibson@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4131, ext. 3518.
Board of Medicine Anesthesiologist Assistants Committee Public Meeting
August 14, 9:15 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Hotel Orlando
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Chandra Prine at chandra_prine@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4135.
Board of Medicine Physician Assistant Council Meeting
August 14, 9:30 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For information, call (850)245-4131or visit www.flhealthsource.com. For an agenda, contact Vera Johnson at Vera_Johnson@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4131, ext. 3528.
Board of Medicine Rules and Legislative Committee Meeting
August 14, 9:45 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For information, visit www.flealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Whitney Bowen at whitney_bowen@doh.state.fl.us or (850)245-4131, ext. 3517.
Board of Medicine Surgical Care/Quality Assurance Committee Public Meeting
August 14,10 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Gwyn Willis at Gwyn_Willis@doh.state.fl.us or (850)245-4131, ext. 3532.
Board of Medicine Public Meeting
August 15-16, 8 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Whitney Bowen at whitney_bowen@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4131, ext. 3517.
Board of Medicine Probable Cause Panel- South
September 12, 2 p.m.
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959
Code: 2454131
For details, contact Trisha L. Grubbs at (850)245-4640, ext. 8145 or email her at Trisha_Grubbs@doh.state.fl.us
Division of Medical Quality Assurance Public Meeting
Sept. 17, 8:30 a.m. – 12 Noon, Tallahassee
Betty Easley Conf. Center, Rm. 152
For details, contact Cassandra Pasley, (850)245-4224
Board of Medicine Probable Cause Panel- North
September 26, 2 p.m.
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959,
Code: 2454131
For details, contact Joyce Blackwell at (850)245-4640, ext. 8142 or email her at Joyce_Blackwell@doh.state.fl.us |
Florida’s largest insurers say they like governor’s health plan
By Carol Gentry, Editor
2/26/2008 © Florida Health News
Both of Florida’s top-selling commercial health insurers say they like Gov. Charlie Crist’s proposal for covering more of Florida’s uninsured citizens.
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Crist
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UnitedHealthcare intends to bid for the business if Crist’s plan for low-cost, stripped-down coverage still looks good after it goes through the legislative process, said John Matthews, Southeastern director of public policy and public affairs.
“We’re excited the governor has decided to tackle the issue,” he said. “It’s one of the harder issues out there” to address and to pass.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is also bullish on the “Cover Florida Plan,” said Randy Kammer, vice president of regulatory affairs and public policy. She likes Crist’s suggestion of extending family policies to adult children up to age 30 and a program that seeks out and connects uninsured people to a community clinic that can serve as their “medical home.”
“There’s a lot of really good stuff in there,” Kammer said. “It’s a fabulous idea.”
Immediately after the proposal was unveiled a week ago, it drew criticism. Some said that no plan would work as long as employers and individuals aren’t required to sign up for it.
Others predicted a fiscal nightmare because Crist would require insurers to take all comers, including those who have health risks. This “guaranteed issue” would create a stampede of sick people who have been shut out of coverage to sign up for the program, they warned.
But Matthews said it’s premature to predict disaster before details of the plan are worked out. The new secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, Holly Benson, has said she looks forward to negotiating plans that will sell.
No one, including Crist, asserts that his program would provide coverage for all of Florida’s uninsured, estimated by the Census Bureau last year at 3.6 million and rising. But the program would chip away at the problem from several angles:
- Small employers and self-employed persons who cannot afford traditional coverage could buy policies that are “mandate-free” or, as Matthews calls it, “mandate-lite.” Plans would cover the usual – health screenings, doctors’ office visits, urgent care, hospital stays and prescription drugs – but would have flexibility in setting limits, deductibles and co-payments. The aim would be to make coverage bare-bones enough to sell for $150 a month. The state would negotiate the terms with participating companies.
- Young adults, who are the least likely age group to pay for health coverage because they gamble that they won’t get sick or hurt, could be added to their parents’ policies until they reach age 30.
- KidCare, Florida’s federally subsidized program for uninsured children, would expand to cover more of them and would let parents buy coverage for children at full price if their income exceeds the program limits for subsidies.
- An effort to locate uninsured persons and hook them up with health-care programs that meets their needs at a price they could afford. A pilot program in Palm Beach County has shown that uninsured families and individuals often do not make use of existing treatment facilities or insurance programs because they do not know about them.
- Abolition of a state program that requires hospitals to obtain a “certificate of need,” or CON, before planning new construction. The CON law was established to prevent duplication of services supported by tax dollars, but Crist says he thinks it is anti-competitive and an inappropriate role for government.
Contact Carol Gentry at 727-410-3266 or Carol.Gentry@FloridaHealthNews.org.
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