Capitol Update: Healthcare

The Florida Legislature gathered for its first week of committee meetings in the New Year, and several important healthcare discussions occurred.

Ensuring Florida remains the best place to live, work, and play has been a top priority for the Florida Chamber for the last 100 years. This means a strong focus on policies that seek to drive down the cost of care shifted onto businesses as well as support for innovations that will result in greater access and quality outcomes for Floridians.

Below is a summary of healthcare conversations the Florida Chamber monitored this week. To learn more about any of these issues, please contact me at bhunt@flchamber.com.

• The Senate Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security Committee heard an update from the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs on VA healthcare issues,
• An update on the State’s Medicaid Program was heard in a variety of Healthcare committees, including: The House Health & Human Services Committee, the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, and the Senate Appropriations Committee,
• The House Health Innovation Subcommittee heard an overview of the Certificate of Need Program from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which included a panel discussion featuring Florida Chamber member Florida State University, and
• House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R-Lutz) briefed Florida Chamber Board members in town for the Leadership Fly-In on his perspectives and philosophies surrounding the overall healthcare conversation.
• Federal Healthcare Watch: Early this Thursday morning, the United States Senate passed a budget resolution that sets the stage for a bill that could repeal major pieces of the Affordable Care Act – also known as Obamacare. Friday, the United States House of Representatives approved the same resolution by a 227-198 vote margin. The House and Senate resolutions allow for the repeal bill to be drafted and introduced, which could occur as early as January 27, 2017. That legislation would still need to be passed by both the House and Senate, before being sent to President-Elect Donald Trump for his signature.

The Florida Chamber will continue to provide you with regular updates on these important healthcare issues.

Learn More

This week, the Florida Chamber released its 2017 Competitiveness Agenda, which outlines our specific policy positions on healthcare and more.