healthcare

Representatives Kat Cammack (R-FL) and Greg Steube (R-FL) are reintroducing legislation to make access to health savings accounts (HSAs) easier for millions of Americans. The bill is named the "Affordable Care and Comprehensive Economic Support through Savings" (ACCESS) Act, which Reps. Cammack and Steube had first introduced in September 2023. To reiterate, the bill not […]

Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is introducing bipartisan legislation with Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) to expand treatment options for chronic diseases via workplace health insurance. Named the "Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage" Act, Rep. Buchanan's bill allows employers that offer high-deductible health plans (HDHP) to employees an option to include pre-deductible coverage of healthcare services treating common […]

Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) is cosponsoring legislation that would improve healthcare access for veterans by easing various restrictions and improving the availability of mental health resources. The bill, named the "Veterans' Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers" (ACCESS) Act, has several provisions, including establishing a baseline for community care standards. Additionally, the list of […]

Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) has reintroduced a bill strengthening the United States' relationship with the State of Israel in the world of healthcare. Rep. Buchanan's bill, the "Maximizing Israel-U.S. Research Advancement and Collaborative Leadership in Emerging" (MIRACLE) Medical Technology Act, promotes joint research and development between the two countries and creates a U.S.-Israel Health Care […]

President Biden has signed the bipartisan Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Reauthorization Act of 2024 into law, and Representatives Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Buddy Carter (R-GA) are celebrating. They call it "a critical step" in providing high-quality emergency healthcare for children and adolescents. The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) described the EMSC program, enacted in […]

In a time when Americans were facing a critical affordable health care crisis, Congress created a program – the 340B Drug Pricing Program – as a remedy. It was life-changing for our low-income and uninsured neighbors — allowing certain hospitals to purchase drugs at steep discounts, with the expectation that these savings would be passed […]

A bipartisan bill introduced by Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) to reauthorize research into congenital heart disease (CHD) has been signed into law, reinforcing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the fight against the condition. The Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2024 reauthorizes funding for researching CHD's causes, prevention, and treatment through Fiscal […]

The amount of money cheated out of Americans and insurance companies via Medicare fraud is estimated to be approximately $100 billion just in 2023. Representative Aaron Bean (R-FL) has introduced a new bill to combat such rampant deception, specifically targeting loopholes that have allowed non-physicians to bill health insurance companies for millions of dollars frequently. […]

Rep. Kat Cammack's (R-FL) Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act has passed the House, which will prohibit the denial of organ transplants to disabled Americans.  The bill expands upon the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 by clarifying that organ transplants cannot be denied to disabled individuals and prohibits covered entities from determining […]

Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) announced that the University of South Florida (USF) will receive nearly $14 million in a federal grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to support Affordable Care Act (ACA) “health navigators.” These navigators attempt to advise and assist families find the right healthcare plan for them. According to […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Despite Gov. Ron DeSantis' recent efforts to beef up Florida's healthcare and transportation systems, a new report analyzing public safety and infrastructure has ranked the Sunshine State in the abysmally low 44th position. In other words, Florida's in the bottom ten. "Florida's low emergency health care ranking and lengthy commutes outweigh its decent bridge […]

Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) recently introduced the Harmonizing Environmental Analyses and Launching Therapeutic Hubs to Yield Bolstered Research and Innovation in Neurological Science (HEALTHY BRAINS) Act to the House. This bill looks into environmental risk factors such as toxicant exposure and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s […]

TALLAHASSEE, FL—In a primary contest that is quickly escalating into a heated battle for the soon-to-be vacant Senate District 35 seat, Miramar Democrat Rodney Jacobs launched a new political advertisement blasting former Broward Mayor Barbara Sharief. The ad implies that Sharief, whose company was found to have overbilled Medicaid patients, "learned her skills" from her […]

US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has filed legislation aimed at improving military maternal healthcare vis-a-vis access and quality. The bill would statutorily redefine pregnancy and loss of pregnancy as ‘qualifying life events’ (QLE) under TRICARE to allow mothers to change their TRICARE plan. TRICARE is the military’s healthcare system. Under TRICARE, QLEs enable military personnel […]

Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) reintroduced the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act, a bill that provides “immediate access to support and medical care for individuals with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) who already qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and are therefore eligible for Medicare.” The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act is […]

Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) – a senior member of the Health Subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives – and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) held a conversation with healthcare and biotech industry leaders in the Tampa Bay area to discuss the processes of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in hopes of facilitating “development of […]

MIAMI, FL—Governor Ron DeSantis signed three healthcare bills into law Tuesday at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, designed to expand certain insurance coverages and increase funding for cancer and rare disease research. "[Healthcare budget items] as well as the legislation I will sign here today will have a positive impact on the health...of our children," DeSantis said, […]

TAMPA, FL—In its final form, Governor Ron DeSantis approved this year's $116.5 billion budget while vetoing around $1 billion in projects, touting a staggering $17 billion surplus. "This is a budget that shows it can be done," DeSantis said at the Tampa press conference, applauding his "great" budget as a "mark of good leadership". "We […]