March 28, 2024
High inflation and housing costs force Floridians to delay needed health care

Florida Trend Health Care

High inflation and housing costs force Floridians to delay needed health care

| 3/14/2023

High inflation and housing costs force Floridians to delay needed health care

In a recent Gallup poll, 38% of Americans surveyed said they had put off medical treatment last year due to cost, up from 26% in 2021. The new figure is the highest since Gallup started tracking the issue in 2001. A survey by The Kaiser Family Foundation last summer showed similar results. It found people were most likely to delay dental care, followed by vision services and doctor's office visits. Many didn't take medications as prescribed. [Source: WUSF]

Florida eyes rule change to let doctors OK medical pot via telehealth

A Florida House panel unanimously signed off on a proposal that would allow doctors to renew patients’ medical marijuana approvals using telehealth. Bill sponsor Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myers, told the House Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee that the bill (HB 387) would “treat this (medical marijuana) like any other medicine.” More than 2,500 doctors have undergone training that allows them to order medical marijuana for patients. Voters approved a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly authorized medical marijuana, and nearly 800,000 patients have been certified for the treatment. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

A Florida abortion ban after 6 weeks could make an impact beyond the state

Less than a year after Gov. Ron DeSantis, an expected GOP presidential contender, signed a Florida restriction on most abortions after the 15-week mark of pregnancy, he’s showing support for an even stricter ban introduced this week by state lawmakers. His position could have implications on the availability of abortion not only in Florida but across the South — and also figure into the 2024 presidential race. [Source: Health News Florida]

How Floridians can avoid brain-eating amoeba infections

Florida is known for dangerous wildlife like alligators and sharks. But one deadly creature flies under the radar: the Naegleria fowleri, commonly called the brain-eating amoeba. The microscopic organism, which is found in the Sunshine State and elsewhere across the U.S., recently infected and killed a person in Southwest Florida, possibly because the individual used tap water to rinse their sinuses. Infections have previously been seen in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, according to the Florida Department of Health. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

CDC, FDA send a letter reply rejecting Ladapo's COVID vaccine recommendations

U.S. health agencies have sent a letter to Florida's surgeon general, warning him that his claims about COVID-19 vaccine risks are harmful to the public. The letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was sent Friday to Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo. It was a response to a letter Ladapo had written the agencies last month, expressing concerns about what he described as adverse effects from mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Florida bill prohibiting transgender care for youth moves forward
Florida legislators voted Monday to advance a bill that would make providing “sex reassignment” medical care to transgender minors illegal, would make providing that care a felony and would prohibit state funds from being used to cover such care for adults. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, is the latest move from state officials targeting medical care for transgender children in Florida.

› FSU study shows Humana has $48B economic impact in Florida
A new study from Florida State University (FSU) shows Humana has a $48 billion economic impact in the Sunshine State. Humana is one of the largest health insurers in the state, covering 2.6 million members and providing nearly 11,000 jobs. The FSU study shows that, as an employer, Humana was responsible for $18 billion in income or wages and $472 million in state and local taxes last year.

› Suing Florida nursing homes for wrongful death will get harder if this bill passes
A new bill would make it harder to sue Florida nursing homes and other long-term care facilities after the death of a resident. House Bill 1029, along with its companion Senate Bill 1304, would raise the bar for these cases to the current requirements for medical negligence suits in Florida. If passed, only spouses and surviving children under 25 would be able to file wrongful death suits against long-term care facilities in the Sunshine State.

› Tallahassee Memorial Hospital land designated for FSU's academic health center
Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare announced Wednesday they have designated land for a planned academic health center on the hospital’s campus in Tallahassee. The center will provide about 130,000-square-feet of medical and research-related space, according to the health system. In a news conference at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, university president Richard McCollough said the project, a joint venture between the school and hospital, will be “transformational for the region.”

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