LATEST NEWS
2012 Hospital Day in the Legislature: Grassroots Campaign and Public Opinion Polling Results
FHA hosted the annual Hospital Day in the Legislature January 23 and 24 in Tallahassee. Members from around the state converged on Tallahassee to carry a message to lawmakers about the consequences of further cuts to the Medicaid program. Attendees at the Monday afternoon briefing heard from Bill McInturff, partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies - a national political and public affairs survey research firm. His presentation highlighted Florida voter attitudes about hospitals, Medicaid and proposed cuts. The industry’s strongest arguments against Medicaid reductions were also discussed and there was a special profile on the attitudes of Republican primary voters. To view the presentation slides, click here.
Also, presented was the Association’s grassroots advocacy campaign, which includes the formation of the Heal Florida’s Health Care Coalition and the launch of coalition Web site: www.healflhealthcare.com. The coalition includes dozens of organizations from around the state who are unified in bringing attention to the consequences of further cuts. The campaign will focus on the impacts to our patients, caregivers and community members and will provide a platform to allow them to tell their story and share their concerns for how these cuts will affect their access to care across the state. The coalition also has a Facebook and Twitter page where visitors can share their stories.
FHA will be holding a member advocacy update call tomorrow, January 27, at 9 a.m. EST, where further information on coalition events and call-to-action will be discussed. For call in information, please contact Angie Boltz at (850) 222-9800.
House Releases Budget Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2012-13, Senate Budget Release
The House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee announced its preliminary budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2012-13, which included significant reductions for hospital inpatient and outpatient services. The House recommended an across-the-board reduction of seven percent to hospitals which total $291,675,955 and recommended limits of 12 days for emergency room documents costing Florida’s hospitals an additional $15,874,155. A smaller reduction was taken for preventable hospital errors at a level of $2,731,943. The Governor’s rate band proposal was rejected by the House but it was not clear if they are supporting an expedited implementation of the DRGs as a replacement payment plan for the current per diem payment methodology. Funding was provided to continue the implementation of the transition to the ICD-10 coding process.
The Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee announced that their targeted reductions in General Revenue would be approximately $850 million and the release of their budget would be delayed one to two weeks.
Personal Injury Protection Legislative Update
The House Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Bill, HB 119 by Representative Boyd, passed its second committee of reference this week. The House Bill keeps the $10,000 PIP benefit but limits the payments primarily to hospitals and physicians providing both emergency care and follow-up care. The Bill also makes changes to attorney fees and fraud prevention. The Senate Bill, SB 1860 by Senator Negron, has not yet been heard but also keeps the $10,000 benefit intact with few changes to the current law. The FHA supports keeping PIP as over one third of ER patients have no other coverage for their auto accidents.
To Unsubscribe, please e-mail Luanne MacNeill.
|
