As Florida moves forward with laws aimed at curbing medical-malpractice lawsuits, state regulators are ready to consider the sale of a major malpractice insurer to a California company.
The Office of Insurance Regulation has scheduled a July 21 public hearing on the proposed sale of Jacksonville-based FPIC Insurance Group Inc. to The Doctors Co. of Napa, Calif.
After dropping out of school in his native Mexico, Luis Aragon crossed the U.S. border as an illegal immigrant at age 16 in search of work.
Aragon found jobs in Georgia before heading to Jacksonville, where he worked construction. But in September 2007, Aragon fell 30 feet off a roof on a job site, suffering serious injuries to his foot and arm.
That accident led to a legal fight that culminated last week with the First District Court of Appeal sending a clear message that illegal immigrants are entitled to workers compensation benefits in Florida.
Progress Energy could seek to pass along hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs to customers because of a massive repair project at a Crystal River nuclear plant.
Top Progress executives held a conference call with Wall Street analysts Tuesday, a day after filing documents with the Florida Public Service Commission and federal officials that outlined the companys decision to repair a containment building at the plant.
In naming Gerard Robinson as Floridas next education commissioner, the State Board of Education this week turned to someone with a compelling background --- and an affinity for school-choice programs.
The Board of Education unanimously voted Tuesday to appoint Robinson, who serves as secretary of education in Virginia. He will replace Eric Smith, who was pushed out of the commissioners job by Gov. Rick Scott.
With a June 30 deadline looming, discussions about continuing Floridas Medicaid pilot program appear headed to overtime.
The Agency for Health Care Administration sent a letter to the federal government Monday seeking a 30-day extension of the pilot, as state and federal officials try to reach agreement on continuing the program for three more years.
Phil Williams, AHCAs assistant deputy secretary for Medicaid finance, said the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requested the letter. He said extra time is needed to fine tune details of the agreement.
Florida health-care officials hit the road this week to hold hearings about the new Medicaid overhaul -- and got an earful about granny dumping and endangered mom-and-pop pharmacies.
The Agency for Health Care Administration, which held 10 hearings from Pensacola to Fort Myers, can do little about many of the objections. In passing the overhaul, lawmakers required that seniors enroll in managed-care plans and decided against giving special treatment to independent drug stores.
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed a landmark Medicaid overhaul that calls for shifting hundreds of thousands of low-income and elderly Floridians into managed-care plans.
Scotts signature on a two-bill package (HB 7107 and HB 7109) was not a surprise -- he has long pushed for transforming the Medicaid system.
Now, it will be up to the state to convince the federal government to go along. The state Agency for Health Care Administration is required to submit a proposal to federal Medicaid officials by Aug. 1 and is scheduled to start a flurry of public hearings June 10.
Gulf Power Co. this summer plans to ask for a $95 million increase in base rates, arguing that the cost of supplying electricity to the Panhandle has jumped during the past decade.
The Pensacola-based utility filed a document this month with the state Public Service Commission that outlines the proposal.
If granted, the proposal would translate to a 21.5 percent increase over Gulfs 2010 base-rate revenues of $442 million -- though it is too early to know how such a hike would affect individual customers bills.
