Florida employees pay among highest rates for health insurance, study finds
Employees in Florida paid more for their health insurance in 2020 than workers in almost any other state, according to new research from the Commonwealth Fund. The study compared employee health insurance costs, including insurance premiums and deductibles. The average amount Florida workers paid for premiums — which come from their paychecks — and deductibles was $9,284 in 2020, or 16% of the state’s median income. Ten years ago, workers in Florida paid $5,205, or 11% of the state’s median income. [Source: Health News Florida]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Stress and Family Friendly Care for Childhood Cancer Patients in Florida
Two Pensacola nonprofit organizations have joined forces to help pediatric cancer patients and their families relieve some of the stress and financial strain while their children undergo extended periods of treatment. IMPACT 100, an all-female philanthropic group, recently awarded a $101,820 grant to the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research to create a business center-style office space at Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola. [Source: Florida Trend]
Statewide reports show how bad mental health support is in Florida
A report released in December paints a grim picture of mental health in Florida. The third interim report of the state’s 20th grand jury was released by the Florida attorney general’s office in December of last year. It’s a sobering account that describes a long list of problems in Florida’s mental health system. “Our mental health care ‘system’, if it can even be called that, is a mess,” the report said. [Source: Wink News]
The Consulate nursing homes are changing their names. Are they changing owners?
Florida’s largest retirement home chain is changing its name. On its website, Consulate Health Care Services no longer lists any long-term care facilities in the state. Following a bankruptcy filing and a wave of bad press over the past few years, the privately-owned chain – the sixth-largest retirement home company in the country – has quietly split its Florida facilities into three separate companies. . All three seem to still be affiliated with the consulate. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Florida Trend Exclusive
Miami Cancer Institute aims to improve care for HIV-positive cancer patients
People infected with HIV are 500 times more likely than those who are not to get a type of soft tissue cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, they are 12 times more likely to have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and three times more likely to have cervical cancer. The data also shows that HIV-positive cancer patients are more likely to die of cancer than HIV-negative patients with the same cancers. The Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, has formed a multidisciplinary team to improve care for HIV-positive cancer patients. [Source: Florida Trend]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Dr. Pino’s suspension comes as administration tightens muzzle on public health, critics say
The suspension of Dr. Raul Pino from Orange County – after he urged his health department staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19 – is the most egregious example yet of the increasingly tight muzzling of the state over health authorities battling the pandemic, critics say, making Florida one of the most repressive in the nation when it comes to public health.
› South Florida health centers, pharmacies ready to distribute free N95 masks
The Biden administration will distribute 400 million N95 masks across the country starting next week for Americans to pick up for free at community health centers and pharmacies. Experts said they provide better protection against COVID-19 than other masks. They are also harder to find than other masks and there are many counterfeit versions as well. “We were very recently notified that we were eligible to be part of the first batch of Community Health Centers to receive N95 masks,” said Dr. Wilhelmina Lewis, President and CEO of Florida Community Health Centers.
› Project Opioid Launches Campaign in Central Florida to Combat Overdose Deaths
A new campaign across Central Florida aims to make it easier for people struggling with addiction to get help during the pandemic. The Opioid Project’s Everybody campaign will run billboards, public service announcements and social media ads aimed at helping people fight addiction. Andrae Bailey, CEO of Project Opioid, said the ads will hopefully encourage people struggling with addiction and their loved ones to go to Everyonecampaign.org and sign up to be connected to recovery resources. free.
› Florida Senate Adopts Health Care Accountability Shield
The Florida Senate approved a proposal last week that would extend legal protections against COVID-19 to hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 22-13 along nearly straight party lines to pass the measure (Senate Bill 7014), sponsored by Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills.
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