National Headlines
Week in Review
Can’t find a story you spotted several days ago? Look here for links to stories we’ve posted from the last seven days.
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
It’s a big day for health issues
Tuesday was a big day for health issues, with state-worker drug-testing and Department of Health on the griddle. Today will be another one, with abortion and workers' comp likely offering heated debate.
Man stabs sons after DCF returns them
The Dept. of Children and Families returned two boys to their father despite their fear of him, a decision that proved fatal. Now questions are being raised about DCF's judgment.
Medical tourists spend big in FL
Hospitals estimate they account for at least $300 million a year, and most are insured workers from Latin America and the Caribbean who can’t get treatment in their own country.
Porky prescribed for emotional support
According to Bernie Lodico’s VA psychiatrist, federal law protects his right to have a pig as a service animal. But his neighbors at a mobile home park aren't sympathetic.
Catholic school sues over birth control mandate
Ave Maria, a Catholic university in Southwest Florida, has file suit to overturn the Obama administration's rule requiring that contraception be covered by employer plans under the Affordable Care Act.
Pharmacies turn away pain-pill prescriptions?
The husband of a woman in severe pain from scleroderma says he has repeatedly been turned away from pharmacies when he tries to fill her prescriptions for painkillers.
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
DOH won’t lose out to counties
Protests by counties, public-health experts and consumer groups have defanged some of the legislative attack on the Department of Health. Update: Amended bill passed late on Tuesday.
Consumers may retain medical-board seats
The state’s association for physician assistants has agreed to drop its request for one of the consumer slots on each medical board, the group’s chief lobbyist said today.
State worker drug-testing bill lives
(Update) An amended bill that would allow state agencies to conduct random drug tests on state workers passed the House Appropriations Committee 15 to 8 on Tuesday afternoon.
Police: Nurse left elderly woman in car at casino
Caretaker Mary Holly had two active warrants in Palm Beach County when police arrested her for leaving a 95-year-old alone in a car for two hours while she gambled at a Coconut Creek casino.
Drug counselor blocked from reporting abuse
A drug counselor suspected the daughter of a client was being abused, so she called the state abuse hotline. But her supervisor at Operation PAR said the child was not their concern.
Surgeon set himself on fire, sheriff says
The death of a bariatric surgeon from burns last April, assumed accidental at the time, has been determined as a suicide, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office says.
Monday, February 20th, 2012
ERs ask for cash up front
For-profit chains and some non-profit hospitals now require patients to pay if their emergency-room visit is deemed non-urgent. Consumer groups worry it's a way of screening out the uninsured.
Generous impulse saves 60 lives in kidney chain
The decision of one man to donate a kidney to someone he didn't know created a chain of organ swaps carried out over four months by 17 hospitals in 11 states, including Florida.
Lobbyists’ push could kill PIP overhaul
State and business leaders say the auto-insurance system is rife with fraud, but reform efforts have run into a well-financed wall of lobbyists. Also:
--Cuts to mental health have many worried.
--Lawmakers say no to taxes, no matter what.
--Compromise on med-mal divides FMA.
Also:
--Claims bills moving through Legislature.
--Trying again on concussion bill.
--Private university may get nursing home.
Judge accused of improper help for clinics
Dade Judge Ana Maria Pando, who has been in trouble before, now is accused of using her influence to help a chain of clinics that often has cases in her court.
Renowned surgeon sues group that recruited him
After highly publicizing the hiring of orthopedic surgeon Leon Paulos, Baptist Health Care Corp. unexpectedly fired him. Now, the doctor is suing to stop them from blocking him from opening a clinic to treat combat veterans.
Koch funds cancer fight, not just politics
A billionaire best known for funding anti-union, anti-Obama causes prefers to be recognized for the many millions he has given to cancer research.
Friday, February 17th, 2012
DOH makeover on the move
A Senate committee Thursday passed a Dept. of Health reorganization bill that removes education and prevention. The public-health community doesn't like it, but likes the House bill even less.
Bill would repeal phys ed requirement
Some lawmakers want to get rid of the requirement for middle schools and leave the decision to local districts. Hear what kids think about the idea of no more gym class. Also:
--Bill would let doctors use arbitration form.
--Meningitis vaccine for 7th graders in budget.
--House passes child-protection bill.
Scott favors House bill on PIP fraud
The governor said he favors the House's bill, which would limit coverage for auto-crash injuries to emergency rooms. The chief financial officer favors the Senate bill, which takes a different approach. Meanwhile, the House Speaker explains why the problem is so hard to solve.
Doctor ousted by another state works in FL
Cosmetic surgeon Oscar Ramirez lost his license in Maryland after two patients died, so he moved to Weston. Florida authorities will consider his case, but the legal process can take a long time.
Ectopic pregnancy deaths rise in FL
Death from ectopic pregnancy, while still rare, has grown so much in Florida that the CDC is concerned. Are women waiting too long to seek medical care?
Woman loses leg, arm in dog attack
The woman was mauled by a pit bull named Feisty, accused of three previous attacks.
Thursday, February 16th, 2012
Senate panel passes $71B budget
In a marathon session, the Senate Budget Committee approved a plan that spends about $200 million less on health care than the House.
Cash, unity won ‘eyeball wars’
In a remarkably frank letter, the president of the Florida Medical Association says optometrists who wanted prescribing rights outpoliticked opththalmologists. One of the latter called the FMA's compromise "irresponsible."
DCF had closed file on emaciated boy
In the case of the 9-year-old boy who weighed just 35 pounds, records show DCF closed the file on his family 48 days before he escaped. They don't say why DCF made that decision.
Suit tries to block prison health outsourcing
The suit seeks to block the state from signing contracts with private companies to care for inmates by citing the way the legislation was enacted.
Center opens to train medical teams
Built by USF, the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation offers health-care teams training in patient safety.
Circumcision protesters fighting tradition
Florida "intactivists," who argue that amputating a baby boy's foreskin is brutal, find themselves fighting both organized medicine and thousands of years of history.
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