HOME HNF STORIES AT THE CAPITOL CONSUMER CORNER ANALYSIS & OPINION WEEK IN REVIEW ABOUT US SUPPORT OUR WORK

COLUMNS & BLOGS

DNA analysis embarrasses justice system

7/29/2010 © Miami Herald
Fred Grimm writes that after an embarrassing string of DNA exonerations, the state Supreme Court appointed an innocence commission to examine procedural flaws that led to so many wrongful convictions. The case of Derrick Williams featured several recurring themes in those lousy cases.

The real legacy of the session that wasn't

7/28/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
Sue Carlton writes that maybe instead of "special session," we should say "special seconds," since that's about how long lawmakers took to playpartisan politics and deny us the chance to vote on a constitutional amendment on drilling.

Scott and Greene should stop ads and start paying us

7/26/2010 © Palm Beach Post
Frank Cerabino writes that It would be so much more efficient for Rick Scott and Jeff Greene to streamline their process of buying votes by eliminating the middleman and making cash payments directly to the voters.

Is Don Berwick going to be Sherrod-ed?

7/27/2010 © Managed Care Matters
Joe Paduda writes that the appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick as head of CMS has incited a furor among politicians who disagree with his views. To support their claims, they are using Berwick's own words, eerily reminiscent of the Shirley Sherrod debacle.

Do you drive on your playground?

7/25/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
Scott Maxwell writes that we are even having a debate is nonsensical. Children and cars do not mix. Period. Here's an idea: Get some parking. That's what leaders in 99 percent of other coastal communities in America have done.

ADA has helped bring about a change in values

7/25/2010 © Fort Myers News Press
Roger Bradley, executive director of LARC, writes that life has changed for the better as a result of the Americans with Disabilities Act. But in the future, we shouldn't need legislation to motivate our community to make changes for anyone.

FDA unconcerned about danger of foster kids in drug trials

7/25/2010 © Sarasota Herald Tribune
Columnist Tom Lyons says FDA was wrong to urge Florida officials to let foster children be enrolled in drug trials.

Could dengue fever be linked to past government experiments?

7/21/2010 © Truthout
The outbreak of dengue fever in Florida’s coastal towns isn't such a surprise when you study historic documents about US Army and CIA experiments; also, dispersants to combat the oil spill may compound the problem.

The spill's staggering true toll

7/24/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
Professor Mark T. Brown, director of the Center for Environmental Policy at UF, writes that few have noted that BP will likely pay nothing for perhaps the most important consequence of its mishap: Damage to natural benefits by a healthy Gulf of Mexico.

Prognosis from reform: Higher premiums

7/23/2010 © Palm Beach Post
Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters, writes that health reforms may make insurance easier to come by for many Americans, but they may not be able to afford the insurance now available to them.

Berwick seeks more science in medicine

7/21/2010 © Palm Beach Post
Stacey Singer says the health-reform debates are about to re-ignite as the CMS appointee will go to the Senate for confirmation after all.

Do lawmakers think we have amnesia on oil drilling?

7/20/2010 © Florida Today
Matt Reed writes that if politicians had shown any respect for Florida's statutory ban on near-shore drilling, Gov. Charlie Crist would not have ordered them to the Capitol today.

Looking to the future of children's health care

7/20/2010 © Daytona Beach News Journal
Children's health advocate Linda Merrell writes that 750,000 kids in Florida remain uninsured. The community pays the price and consequences for uninsured children. But communities can make a difference.

No way are we 4 times crazier than Texans -- it's gotta be fraud

7/17/2010 © Miami Herald
Carl Hiaasen says So. FL is the "Deepwater Horizon of Medicare corruption in the United States, and the gusher is getting worse. No other place even comes close to matching the number of crooked health-care businesses, or the immense dollar amounts that wind up in the pockets of criminals."

Jeb Bush's hyped bio-tech boom went bust

7/18/2010 © South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Stephen Goldstein writes that four years after Jeb Bush left office, we're reeling from the $1.5 billion cost of the biotech boondoggle he foisted on us with Scripps Florida.

He was sick. And jailed. Was anyone listening?

7/18/2010 © Sarasota Herald Tribune
Tom Lyons writes that six days after the death of a prisoner at the Sarasota County Jail infirmary, the paper got a call from a man who had been there. What a nightmare that place must be for a sick person.

GOP candidates for governor running against health reform

7/16/2010 © South Florida Sun Sentinel
Stephen Goldstein writes that the two Republican candidates for governor want to deprive Floridians of the benefits people are already getting, or will soon get, from federal health reform.

Medicare waste, fraud and self destruction

7/14/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
Mike Thomas writes that unless we rein in the outlandish costs and fraud in a Medicare program that has trillions in unfunded liabilities, we might as well write off our kids' future, print up a bunch more money, and go hang with the Greeks.

Veterans deserve all the help they need

7/14/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
Scott Maxwell writes that too many of our politicians are oh-so-willing to send soldiers off to war — and unwilling to deal with the home-wrecking consequences that sometimes follow.

Introducing new bacteria won't help degrade oil

7/11/2010 © Pensacola News Journal
Professor Richard A. Snyder writes that until the effects of adding nutrients to Panhandle beaches are known, the most prudent approach is to avoid adding anything that might cause adverse effects.

'Time to get to work'? How about time to get a tutor

7/9/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
Daniel Ruth writes that Rick Scott doesn't need to get to work. He needs to get a tutor. It is not an unreasonable expectation that anyone who wants to be governor ought to know something about the job or the state they claim they want to lead.

Climate skeptics take cue from Big Tobacco

7/9/2010 © Orlando Sentinel
Environmental activist Lee Bidgood Jr. writes that signs that greenhouse-gas emissions have overheated and destabilized the climate are unmistakable. Yet climate skeptics and deniers have spread confusion, very much like the well-paid skeptics of tobacco's hazards.

Rick Scott's troubling story of convenience

7/7/2010 © Tampa Tribune
Steve Forbes, who supports Bill McCollum in the governor's race, writes that it's hard to know what to make of Rick Scott. He boasts of his experience building HCA/Columbia, but doesn't like to talk about how that story ends.

Medicaid Reform reduces fraud, improves care

Alan Levine says the bad actors at WellCare have been replaced by good people, and it would be a mistake to think Medicaid reform had anything to do with the fraud. In fact, he says, the opposite is true.

It takes a village to fight obesity

7/6/2010 © Sarasota Herald Tribune
Eric Ernst writes that cultural habits are hard to change. And we all know fighting childhood isn't really a school's problem. It's a societal one. Public health advocates are working on a communitywide approach to fighting obesity.

A peaceful death: Just what the doctor ordered

FSU geriatrics professor Marshall Kapp tells how health-care providers, caregivers and patient advocates can collaborate to prevent aggressive, pointless end-of-life resuscitation.

Drilling moratorium more about politics than science

7/2/2010 © South Florida Sun Sentinel
Kingsley Guy writes that the decision to impose a moratorium on oil drilling was based not on technical or economic rationales, but on the political calculation that it would make President Obama look like he was being tough on the oil companies so hated by his political base.

Why should a little fraud mess up a state contract?

7/1/2010 © St. Petersburg Times
Howard Troxler writes that the top brass who were supposed to be riding herd on WellCare sometimes simply went to work for WellCare, or joined its board. How is that legal? How is the company's contract not canceled?

ANALYSIS & OPINION

Health News Florida takes no positions on issues or candidates; instead, we post links to editorials, columns and letters that appear in publications around the state. The cartoons also run the gamut of opinions; if you disagree with the one we’ve posted today, you may like the one we post tomorrow.

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.

Yet there is good news: If any winter in recent memory could, this winter has shown why Florida continues to offer a powerful draw to retirees looking to relocate and the business that can serve them. America’s Baby Boom generation, which begins to reach the traditional retirement age of 65 in just eight months, could provide the power to revitalize our economy.

But for this strategy to work, we must ensure Florida has the infrastructure that will attract relocating retirees – adequate health and long-term care choices, livable communities that provide housing and mobility options for Floridians to age in place, and laws that protect consumers.

Achieving this goal will require creativity and courage. State lawmakers are facing difficult budget choices. This year’s budget concerns are made worse because Florida has already cut spending by $6 billion in previous years, and state revenues are down almost one-fourth from their peak in 2006. Midway through the state’s next fiscal year, the federal stimulus funding will diminish unless continued by Congress.

But solutions exist. In fact, with just one decision, lawmakers could improve the competitiveness of Florida small businesses, bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue, and improve the fairness and efficiency of tax collection.

AARP has joined with several other organizations in calling for the Legislature to clear the way for Florida to participate in a nationwide, voluntary organization to improve the fairness and efficiency of tax collection, the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. Under this agreement, out-of-state businesses could voluntarily register with the state to collect and remit unpaid taxes already levied on Internet and other remote-commerce purchases. This agreement would help Florida businesses, especially smaller businesses, by having out-of-state competitors collect and remit the same sales taxes on Internet and other remote sales that Florida-based businesses already do.

AARP is also urging lawmakers to approve an alternative to managed health and long-term care program that could provide better outcomes for Floridians at the same or lower cost as current approaches. In 2009, the Legislature required the Agency for Health Care Administration to propose two “medical home” pilot projects for consideration in 2010. The “medical home” approach helps coordinate and deliver care more effectively drawing on local community networks people know and trust. A "one size fits all" approach does not work when delivering health and long-term care services to Florida's diverse population.

Here’s another win-win: Lawmakers could help older Floridians receive home and community based long-term care services (HCBS).

Older Floridians prefer to receive care in their homes and communities, and it’s a relative bargain for taxpayers. HCBS services can cost as much as one-fifteenth as much as institutional care. When Floridians continue to live in their homes, they continue to contribute to their communities; economically, socially, and through service. Of course, it’s just as important to ensure the availability of affordable housing. AARP will continue to advocate for protecting affordable housing resources for retirees and families.

It is also important to ensure that Florida is a safe place for Boomers to retire. Older residents are most often the targets of fraudulent variable annuity sales and other scams. No one should have their life savings taken away by unscrupulous means. AARP is advocating for enhancing financial security protections by increasing criminal penalties for such practices. This issue has been debated for years. It’s time to get it done.

AARP will also support legislation requiring consumers to receive more information about debt-counseling services before signing contracts and providing additional enforcement powers to the attorney general’s office as well as for greater transparency in the regulation of utility and telecommunications industries in the state, so that consumers know the regulatory process is fair to all.

As our leaders debate economic issues that will impact Floridians of all generations, we hope that they don’t lose sight of the tremendous benefits older residents currently bring to the state, as well as the great potential of tomorrow’s retiring Boomers. Older Floridians are an integral part of bringing our state back into the sunshine. Let's not leave them in the dark.

Lori K. Parham, Ph.D., is Florida state director of AARP.