Plus, expanding hospital-at-home care
A historic health care package has passed the Florida Legislature and is on its way to the Governor’s desk, a new bill would allow better access to emergency insulin refills, and Senator Marco Rubio files bipartisan legislation to expand hospital-at-home programs. It’s all in this week’s Healthcare Digest.
Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo
Better Healthcare, Including Mental Health: How many of you are accustomed to the months-long wait to see physician specialists for everything from mammograms to stress tests? As one reader said, “Just don’t get sick in America”! Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo recognized the looming shortage of physicians and has worked for years on finding the funding and right public policy to add more physicians for Florida’s booming population.
Passidomo’s “Live Healthy” legislation, a $715 million upgrade to Florida’s healthcare industry, was recently passed by both chambers of the Florida Legislature and is on its way to be signed by the Governor. Part of the package are significant investments in mental health services. Senator Colleen Burton (R-Lakeland) said in a recent interview, “There are not a proportionate number of health care providers to include behavioral mental health providers and so, we had to do something different.” While there is some pushback at the hefty price tag on the bill, many proponents counter by saying the cost incurred now will have long-lasting benefits and provide some immediate “regulatory relief” to help decongest the Florida healthcare system.
“We’re reducing some barriers so that psychologists and psychiatric nurses can walk in and work sooner in Baker Act facilities,” Burton pointed out. “It just puts more personnel in place so more Floridians will be able to get the care that they desperately need.”
Better Access to Insulin: A new bill is making its way through the Florida Senate to help patients statewide have better access to insulin in emergency situations. SB 516 will allow pharmacists to give insulin to those who need it before they have a formal prescription or refill from a doctor. These emergency refills are allowed up to 3 times per calendar year, and the legislation has already been commended by many affected with the chronic disease and those at the American Diabetes Association for alleviating much of the stress around prescriptions. This same concept has been enacted in many other states, sometimes referred to as “Kevin’s Law,” in honor of Kevin Houdeshell, an Ohio man that was unable to refill his insulin prescription over the holiday season and passed away as a result. The bill has passed all of its committee and is awaiting a second reading on the Senate floor. The identical House Bill (HB 201) passed the House and was sent to the Senate.
Credit: Katarzyna Bialasiewicz
Hospital-at-Home Expansion: U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) recently filed the At HOME Services Act of 2024, which will create a pilot program for hospital-at-home programs, using Tampa General Hospital as a model for innovating the field. Tampa General provided vital information and input to lawmakers throughout the preliminary process as they looked to advance innovation and access to at home care across the country. Generally, this type of program is meant to free up much-needed hospital beds for other patients and shift most hospital check-ups and routine care to the comfort of the patient’s own home. Daily visits and virtual calls both help monitor the patients, in a system that has seen lower readmission rates, a higher level of safety, and better overall patient experience. Currently, Florida law only provides hospital-at-home programs for acute patients and not those under observation – something that will change if the congressional legislation passes.
LMA Newsletter of 2-26-24
