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Business Report, North Central Florida

Information from the “County Health Rankings & Roadmaps” program, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, and WellFlorida Council, Inc., a private Gainesville nonprofit.

AS OF 2013:
Ranked 4 in the state for behavioral, clinical, environmental, and social and economic factors determining population health

Ranked 18 in the state for health outcomes, a combination of length and quality of life based on health factors

Total Population – 246,203 / Florida – 18,688,787
Non-Elderly Uninsured – […]

WellFlorida News Release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (October 17, 2013)— WellFlorida Council’s “Stop Aids Now” campaign has launched an online video series entitled “Stories of Hope” to increase awareness of HIV and to inspire optimism in communities affected by HIV/AIDS.

“Stories of Hope” consists of three documentaries filmed in North Central Florida. The videos are available to view on the Stop AIDS Now website (www.EveryoneStopAIDSNow.org), Vimeo, YouTube and other outlets. They will also be available for viewing at the WellFlorida table at the Ocala Pridefest on Oct. 19 and […]

WellFlorida News Release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (October 15, 2013)—CommunityHealth IT President Kendra Siler-Marsiglio, Ph.D. and Chief Medical Information Officer David Willis, M.D. recently received the prestigious Critical Access and Rural Hospital Champion Award for 2013 from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. The award is given to individuals for their efforts in helping critical access hospitals and small, rural hospitals nationwide effectively achieve Meaningful Use and embrace health information technology (HIT) to improve patient care. The award is given annually for multiple instances of […]

Lake City Repoter
By STEVEN RICHMOND, srichmond@lakecityreporter.com

The Affordable Care Act’s healthcare marketplace officially opened Oct. 1, but flooded phone lines and overloaded website servers created more confusion than solutions for many Columbia County residents.

In an effort to streamline the process, the federal government established “navigators” to provide unbiased advice to uninsured citizens, helping them answer questions and determine their healthcare needs.

“The navigators and navigator programs’ goal is to get people enrolled through the marketplace who aren’t knowledgeable on individual and family plans,” WellFlorida Council associate […]

Gainesville Sun, Letter to the Editor

Thank you to The Sun for the excellent coverage in the Sept. 29 paper regarding the Affordable Care Act and the implications in our area. The coverage was clear, comprehensive and well written.

As the executive director of a nonprofit involved in working with navigators and committed to the expansion of health coverage for all Americans, I am delighted to see coverage with details of web links for more information.

As an American, I choose to pay for part of my health […]

WUFT News
By Mia Jones

Open enrollment on the Health Insurance Marketplace, or healthcare.gov, is still experiencing technical difficulties, but healthcare officials are encouraging people to explore their options and plans.

Visitors to the site attempting to register for individual insurance plans are experiencing problems when they try to log in and apply. People are taken to this pageexplaining what the issue is: too many visitors.

Jeff Feller, an executive officer for the WellFlorida Council, is encouraging visitors to continue to check out the website despite some registration issues.

Feller […]

WellFloirda News Release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (September 30, 2013)—The Health Insurance Marketplace begins open enrollment this Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013 and Navigators throughout North Central Florida are poised to help consumers explore insurance options and sign up for a plan that meets their needs and budget.

WellFlorida Council, the region’s Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator program manager, has partnered with ACORN Clinic, Childhood Development Services, Heart of Florida Health Center, Palms Medical Group and Suwannee River AHEC to provide Navigator services. At the onset of the enrollment period, a […]

Gainesville Sun
Ocala Star Banner
By Kristine Crane

Teresa McCarthy has experienced the Affordable Care Act firsthand for more than a year now. In October 2012, her policy with Blue Cross/Blue Shield, in anticipation of the law, reinstated a wellness policy that allowed the 64-year-old to get a free annual mammogram and physical — things that had been absent from her policy for a couple of years.
Without them, “It worked OK only because I’m very, very healthy, and I have nothing wrong with me,” said […]

Gainesville Sun, Letters to the Editor

In the midst of our governor explicitly blocking the state Department of Health to provide information and assistance to families and individuals to take full advantage of the Affordable Care Act, it is vitally important to fill the information gap. Providing accurate information to consumers is sorely needed in the absence of any leadership by our elected officials. There is a short time left before the health exchanges become available on Oct. 1. Individuals who do not have employment-related access […]

WUFT News
By Elly Ayres

Gainesville resident Hazel Walter, an 89-year-old sister to two and aunt to 10, could not believe how heavy the small lump in her chest felt after her June 21 diagnosis.

Breast cancer.

The benign lump she’d carefully monitored for 30 years had developed into stage one of the top cause of cancer-related deaths for women in the United States, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In North Central Florida, the disease is second to cancer of the trachea, bronchus and lung […]