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Ocala Star Banner
By Fred Hiers

The Marion County Hospital District is taking a step this week toward opening its financial spigot and sending money to help local nonprofit health care and social service providers.

The district, which received about $212 million a year ago from leasing Munroe Regional Medical Center, is planning to use the money to fund nonprofits that work to improve the health of county residents. Without specific guidelines as to how the money should be spent, the seven-board-member district has worked for the […]

Nature Coast KidCare Coalition Orientation Meeting

April 15, 2015

On April 23, the Nature Coast KidCare Coalition will hold its first meeting, where KidCare experts and stakeholders will share their ideas and knowledge. The Nature Coast KidCare Coalition is a new group formed to discuss and improve outreach and enrollment for the Florida KidCare Program in Marion, Sumter, Citrus, Hernando and Levy counties.

Anyone who is involved or interested in children’s health in the counties mentioned is welcome and encouraged to attend. The meeting will take place at the County Sherriff’s Department EO Center, located […]

Five years later: How ACA is working for Florida—A Stronger Medicare

March 31, 2015

A Stronger Medicare Program

Making prescription drugs affordable for seniors: In Florida, people with Medicare have saved nearly $979,196,447 on prescription drugs because of the Affordable Care Act. In 2014 alone, 346,126 individuals in Florida saved over $306,016,285, or an average of $884 per beneficiary. In 2015, people with Medicare in the “donut hole” received a 55 percent discount on covered brand name drugs and a 35 percent discount on generic drugs. And thanks to the health care law, coverage for both brand name and generic […]

WellFlorida Council: Working Together for Healthy Communities

March 31, 2015

The Fine Print UF

WellFlorida Council is a nonprofit focused on building healthy communities. We are North Central Florida’s local health council and statewide consultants for health causes.

Established in 1969 and based in Gainesville, we are one of the Florida’s 11 local health councils, a network of nonprofit agencies that conduct regional health planning and implementation activities. Our district includes 16 counties in North Central Florida.

As consultants for health causes, we have kept local and state health policy decision makers informed, worked with hundreds of community […]

Lauren Vagelakos: Another chance to get insurance

March 31, 2015

Special to The Gainesville Sun

Open enrollment for the health insurance marketplace ended for the general public on Feb. 15. However, the Center for Medicaid Services announced a new special enrollment period for individuals who did not have health insurance coverage in 2014 and as a result have to pay a fee when they file their 2014 taxes.

This period is specifically for these individuals who didn’t understand the implications of not having coverage in 2014, and were not aware it would result in having to […]

Five years later: How ACA is working for Florida—Better Health

March 30, 2015

Better Health

Providing better value for your premium dollar through the 80/20 Rule: Health insurance companies now have to spend at least 80 cents of your premium dollar on health care or improvements to care, rather than administrative costs like salaries or marketing, or they have to provide you a refund. This means that 981,273 Floridians with private insurance coverage benefited from $41,679,928 in refunds from insurance companies, for an average refund of $65 per family because of the Affordable Care Act.

Scrutinizing unreasonable premium increases: In […]

Five years later: How ACA is working for Florida—Better Value

March 27, 2015

Better Value

Scrutinizing unreasonable premium increases: In […]

Five years later: How ACA is working for Florida—Better Options

March 26, 2015

Better Options

Making health care more affordable and accessible through the Health Insurance Marketplaces: Through the Marketplace, Floridians had the option of signing up for quality health coverage at a price they could afford. Whether they visited the simpler, faster and more intuitive website at HealthCare.gov or contacted the call center, they found more choices and competitive prices.

In Florida, 1,596,296 consumers selected or were automatically re-enrolled in quality, affordable health insurance coverage through the Marketplace as of Feb. 22. Nationwide, nearly 11.7 million consumers selected […]

Alachua fares well, other counties do not in health rankings

March 26, 2015