Atwater's tax pledge and the health-care budget

3/12/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
Senate President Jeff Atwater recently told his chamber's budget committee "we will not extract one more dollar from the small business owners of this state or from any Floridians' wallet to accomplish the task." Looks like hospitals don't count in the no-more-taxes pledge, writes Marc Caputo.

Could racism be a factor in health-reform opposition?

3/12/2010 © South Florida Sun Sentinel
Average Americans who would benefit from all the good in President Obama's proposed revamping of health care are apparently rejecting it — simply because of the skin color of the man who has proposed it, writes Stephen L. Goldstein.

Cost is key to health care reform

3/12/2010 © Pensacola News Journal
Reducing the cost of health care is vitally important to the future of our country. Insuring more Americans is an admirable goal with which I completely agree, writes Rep. Jeff Miller. But it must be cost first, coverage second.

5 easy steps to blood-bank reform

3/10/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
As Florida's Blood Centers board members are slated to meet and talk about their future, allow me to offer a five-point plan for reform, writes Scott Maxwell. It starts with cleaning house — not just with the CEO, but also the top board members.

Fix the moral flaws before reconciling health-care bill

3/9/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
While reconciliation might bring together the House and Senate health-care-reform proposals, it will not bring together the nation — for, however the two bills may be reconciled, serious flaws remain, writes the Most Rev. Thomas G. Wenski, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Orlando.

Jackson's mission must not be forgotten

3/9/2010 © Miami Herald
The most important issue in the Jackson Health System financial crisis has been lost in the sniping: the collective responsibility to provide medical services to indigent persons, writes Daniel Shoer Roth.

You want things to stay the same? Not going to happen

3/8/2010 © Palm Beach Post
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is shining a spotlight on health insurers’ latest round of proposed rate increases. The goal is to keep people focused on the fact that no matter how much they think they want things to stay the same in health care, they’re not going to, writes Stacey Singer

Staged auto accidents threaten drivers

3/7/2010 © Tampa Tribune
Tampa Bay has emerged in the past six months as a national epicenter of auto insurance fraud, including staged accidents and questionable claims, writes Dan Tarantin. You could be seriously injured if you are inadvertently caught up in a staged or caused accident.

Separating fact from philosophy

3/6/2010 © Tampa Tribune
There is no one expert who knows the proper approach to providing health care for all those who need it. I only hope that we would not jump to conclusions based on what the "experts" say without having all the facts, writes Joe Green.

Florida sleeps while the slime spreads

3/7/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
You would think Florida's governor would be leading the charge to clean up our polluted bodies of water. But this is Florida, where politics beats public policy. Dirty money trumps clean water, writes Diane Roberts.

Jackson decision tough but wise

3/6/2010 © Miami Herald
Too many people think a public hospital -- even one renowned for its trauma care and various specialties, like Jackson -- is not their problem. But something's got to give and Friday's cost-cutting recommendations is a start, writes Myriam Marquez.

Secrecy of ownership is concern with Sunshine State news service

3/7/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
Lucy Morgan writes about a worrisome lack of transparency in who owns a startup news service that covers politics.

Boomers have power to revitalize Florida's economy

By Lori Parham
Florida director, AARP
With Florida’s 2010 legislative session now in full swing, the state faces some of its gravest fiscal challenges since the economy peaked in late 2007 and began sliding into recession.

Let’s start with the basics: Florida’s still-struggling economy needs help, and so do millions of Floridians. AARP is urging lawmakers to protect the state’s economy and its residents, and to help smaller Florida businesses compete on a fair basis with out-of-state competitors.

Shortchanging mental health is costly

3/4/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
For the first time in decades, Orange County's mental-health facility is turning away people who need help -- because lawmakers in Tallahassee are not properly funding this critical need, writes Scott Maxwell.

Senate sacrifices much to stand behind guns

3/4/2010 © Miami Herald
Florida's legislators brook no doubts about their priorities. Gun nut paranoia gets preferential consideration over children's health, writes Fred Grimm.

Taxing Twinkies and other junk food

3/4/2010 © Palm Beach Post
Raising the price of Cheetos isn't a solution, but it may be one small part of the complex behavioral shift the nation needs, writes Dan Moffett.

Medicare crisis still looming

3/4/2010 © Palm Beach Post
Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning had a change of heart and allowed the Senate unemployment insurance, COBRA and Medicare fixes to go forward. But the threat of a 21 percent cut is still looming for seniors on Medicare Part B and the doctors who care for them, writes Stacey Singer.

With doctor-pay fix, Congress kicks can down the road

3/3/2010 Managed Care Matters
Joe Paduda says Congress' block of the doctor paycut in Medicare provides only a temporary relief; whole pay system needs fixing.  See also: "Be careful what you wish for." 

Seat-belt laws shackle our freedom

3/3/2010 © Pensacola News Journal
There are way too many laws in this mythical land of the free that infringe on a person's freedom of choice, and mandating that people in automobiles wear seat belts is one of them, writes Reginald T. Dogan.

Report cards don't deliver better care

2/27/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
Report cards are a key step in pay-for-performance programs designed to do one thing: cut spending on medical care by controlling how doctors make medical decisions, writes Dr. David McKalip, past president of the Florida Neurosurgical Society and founder of Doctors for Patient Freedom.

End private insurers' chokehold on health care

2/28/2010 © Daytona Beach News Journal
The problem isn't so-called "socialized medicine," writes Pierre Tristam. The problem is the for-profit insurance industry. The same people who claim to fear government interfering with their care seem to have no problem with those adjusters denying them care.

State workers face a tough couple of months

3/1/2010 © Tallahassee Democrat
For state legislators who go back home and run for re-election this summer, it's impossible to justify free insurance for any state employees when constituents are struggling to make ends meet, writes Bill Cotterell.

Government inaction is a disgrace

2/27/2010 © Miami Herald
Disastrous times call for drastic action, but not in South Florida, writes Myriam Marquez. We are treated to the usual finger-pointing, grandstanding and passive-aggressive do-nothingness. And don't get me started on Jackson Health System's ills. A quarter of a billion dollars in the red?

Slam the brakes on red-light cameras

2/27/2010 © South Florida Sun Sentinel
I was on the fence about red-light cameras until I pretended that cameras were in place at every traffic light, writes Michael Mayo. In theory, that would make me more cautious. In reality, I probably would be in traction right now if cameras were widespread.

Real problem is cost control

2/24/2010 © Daytona Beach News Journal
The actual cost of medical care has risen dramatically in recent years, and it continues to skyrocket every month, writes Arnold Livermore, executive vice president and COO for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. And unless this fact takes center stage in the debate, health reform will amount to little in the end.

Heart health needs better PR

2/24/2010 © Palm Beach Post
It's time to get serious about fighting heart disease in this country, writes Steve Dorfman.  And that starts with change in how the message is delivered. Leaders can take some branding lessons from the breast-cancer-awareness folks.

Insurers have not controlled costs; what good are they?

2/24/2010 © Managed Care Matters
Private plans have not controlled costs, Joe Paduda says. If their lassitude leads to a single-payer system, it will be their own fault.

Treating severe mental illness saves money in long run

By Judith Evans
Executive director, NAMI-FL
As the state's 2010 budget balancing act takes center stage, we can't ignore the cost-saving value of mental health care for people with severe mental illness.

Victims' families entitled to privacy on the Web

2/23/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
It is not yet publicly known whether Florida hospital employees distributed images of a shark victim, but a California appeals court has taken a step toward holding future Internet violators accountable for their actions, writes privacy expert Jon L. Mills. We can only hope the California Supreme Court will uphold this ruling,

Crist’s DCF is still trying to stop gay adoption

2/20/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
Last week, the state stepped up efforts to block the adoption of an infant by his gay cousin, appealing the ruling of a judge who said it should proceed. The family is obviously distressed. But for Gov. Crist, writes Scott Maxwell, the political benefits could be plentiful.

If I were a Congressman, here's what I'd propose

By Brian Knauer
President, Florida Insurance Brokers
My clients and friends all have the opinion of who is “at fault” for the health-care mess. Well, everyone plays a role, but the system is really the problem. If I were the president or a congressman, I would require everyone to get a government plan with a $5,000 deductible that would cover up to $45,000 per year.

Can Dr. Phil rescue our dysfunctional politics?

2/18/2010 © Medicaid First Aid
Maybe, if we had started with simplicity and self-awareness instead of self-righteousness, health reform would be in a better place right now, writes Brady Augustine, who turns to Dr. Phil's Relationship Rescue book for guidance.

Cutting off the blood supply

2/17/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
Mike Thomas writes that he has donated about 12 gallons of blood. But the Florida Blood Centers doesn’t get another pint until they do something about its head vampire, Anne Chinoda, who, with the layoff of 42 blood bank employees, took a 13 percent pay raise.

Common sense trumps common practice

2/17/2010 © Palm Beach Post
Research shows suicidal behavior in teens is much different than adults, writes Christine Stapleton. That's why she says we all should be grateful to Dr. David Shaffer and his working group for recommending a separate questionnaire to identify teens at risk for suicide.

Thin airline passengers have rights, too

2/17/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
You've no doubt heard of filmmaker Kevin Smith getting booted off a flight for being "too fat to fly." Lost in all the noise, writes Steve Huettel: What about the rights of the travelers squeezed by neighbors too big for their own seats?

Blood center leaders just don't get it

2/16/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
News of Florida's Blood Centers' CEO pay raise comes on the heels of disclosures that the blood bank ran a $2 million deficit in 2008 and is preparing to lay off about 4 percent of its work force. Scott Maxwell writes that the disclosure is ghastly but not surprising.

Schools should set example for healthy eating

2/14/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
Writer Dan DeWitt is all for Michelle Obama's call to eliminate junk food from schools. He says it's long overdue, and even holds the view that diet is to us what lead pipes were to Rome — a long-term, unaddressed drag on public health.

Tales of teen-age sex trafficking for Super Bowl were a jolt

2/14/2010 Miami Herald
Columnist Fred Grimm writes that he was shocked at colleagues' article about sex traffickers bringing in teen-age hookers for the Super Bowl. 

Misleading claims of Medicaid cost savings

The claim that the Medicaid Reform Pilot has generated cost savings is inappropriate and flawed, says Florida Community Health Action Information Network. The Legislature must not rely on that faulty assertion when determining whether reform should be expanded statewide.

Crist lets DJJ chief get away with cheating

2/7/2010 Tallahassee Democrat
Tallahassee attorney Florence Snyder writes about Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Frank Peterman's abuse of taxpayers' money and the example it sets for kids in the system who need to learn not to break the rules.