skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Groups Ask Crist and Lawmakers to Implement Health Reform

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 12, 2010   

JUPITER, Fla.- Thirty-four Florida organizations are calling on Gov. Crist and the legislature to step up to the plate and form a commission to implement the new federal health care law, the Affordable Care Act. Even though it is a national law, the states must make decisions about whether and how to implement it.

Laura Goodhue, executive director of Florida Chain, one of the groups, says by ignoring it, the state stands to lose billions in federal dollars over the next 10 years to other states that have already applied for grant money the new law provides.

"Twenty-one other states have formed some form of commission or task force. Florida just needs to step up to the plate and do that, too, just so we can have a stronger health care system and take advantage of these opportunities."

Dr. Mona Mangat, regional director for Doctors for America and an allergist, sees first-hand the effects the system she calls "broken" have on the lives of Floridians. She says it is critical that health care reform laws be implemented.

"The lives of Floridians are at risk. We will continue to have patients who can't have care because they have pre-existing conditions. We will continue to have uninsured who can't get care. It seems to me to be a political risk, and what they're risking is the lives and health of Floridians."

Attorney General McCollum has spearheaded a lawsuit trying to prevent implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Florida, calling it unconstitutional. But Goodhue says even if he wins, many of the federal law's benefits to Floridians would still be in effect, and the state needs to take action.

"A mother who can't get a health insurance policy because their child has a pre-existing condition will now be able to get that policy; seniors who are going to get a prescription rebate will still be getting that. Those things are still going to happen, even if they win this lawsuit, and the state needs to start preparing."

Goodhue points out that the law provides funding to train health care professionals, provide preventive care and create "medical homes" to administer Medicaid. She says time is running out to receive some of the benefits, such as funding for consumer assistance offices to help people navigate the new law and funding to set up new health insurance exchanges that she says will increase competition among insurance companies. Both have September application deadlines.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021