Author Archive

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a rate snapshot of health insurance marketplace rates for plans offered in Florida that shows there will be a 1.20% increase for second lowest cost silver plans offered in 2016. These increases do not take into account advance premium tax credits, which lower the monthly costs for the overwhelming majority of Marketplace consumers. About 8 in 10 individuals who selected a 2015 Marketplace plan qualified for financial […]

Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce

WellFlorida Council was awarded a University of South Florida contract to oversee the Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator program for the third year in 15 counties in North Central Florida.

The following organizations have subcontracted with WellFlorida to provide Navigator services in the region: Palms Medical Group, Azalea Health, Suwannee River AHEC and Gulfcoast North AHEC.

Navigators provide free and unbiased help evaluating insurance options and enrolling in a plan through the Marketplace. Learn more at ncfnavigators.org.

Read this article […]

WellFlorida News Release

Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace starts November 1 and ends January 31, 2016. Navigators in North Central Florida are available for free to help people compare plans, learn about financial assistance and sign up for insurance through the Marketplace.

Roughly 1.27 million Floridians have affordable health coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Still, over 3 million Floridians remain uninsured.

According to Enroll America, a nonprofit healthcare enrollment coalition, millions will qualify […]

90.7 WMFE – Public Radio for Central Flroida
by Abe Aboraya

The town of Mayo sits about halfway between Gainesville and Tallahassee. It’s right in the middle of a seven-county stretch larger than Puerto Rico where every county health department has gotten out of prenatal care.Here, Audra Rutherford is seven months pregnant and working at the family business of making plastic fishing lures. As she walks through the production facility, she points to drums with the colorful names of the lures.

“So we have drunk […]

Ocala Star Banner
By Fred Hiers

Because Marion County has such a senior-heavy population, Medicare plays a large part in local healthcare and the medical economy. As the population ages, Medicare spending also increases, especially for patients with chronic illnesses associated with old age.

That combination has placed Marion County among the top 20 counties nationally in a key metric: adjusted Medicare per capita spending growth rates between 2007 and 2013.

In 2007 Medicare spending was, on average, $7,585 per recipient in Marion. By 2013, […]

By Erin Jester
The Gainesville Sun

On average, there are about 2,000 days in a child’s life between birth and the first day of kindergarten.

About 90 percent of a child’s critical brain development happens in that same timeframe.

Today, there’s no comprehensive network or program in Alachua County to make sure that each child reaches his or her potential during that time, but a group of early childhood education experts and other supporters are working to get one off the ground.

“The bottom line […]

The Gainesville Sun
By Erin Jester

On average, there are about 2,000 days in a child’s life between birth and the first day of kindergarten.

About 90 percent of a child’s critical brain development happens in that same timeframe.

Today, there’s no comprehensive network or program in Alachua County to make sure that each child reaches his or her potential during that time, but a group of early childhood education experts and other supporters are working to get one off the ground.

Ocala Star Banner
By Fred Hiers

The newly formed Marion County Health Alliance whose goal is to try and curb the county’s poor health rankings, took another step Wednesday toward making area residents healthier.

The alliance, which now has nearly 70 organization members, met yesterday at the College of Central Florida’s Webber Center. The nonprofit’s executive committee chairman, Dr. Mel Seek, proposed six area healthcare needs that the group should address to improve county health. The alliance agreed to focus on the half-dozen initiatives.

The […]