Health Insurance

With the deadline of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday approaching, Florida has more than 4 million Obamacare enrollees. Nationally, the ACA added 3.7 million for a record tally of about 20 million.

As enrollment numbers continue to drop, Health and Human Services wrote to Florida and eight other states asking them to work with federal authorities to find solutions and get people insured again.

When the program was rolled out Nov. 2, Jacksonville officials said about 120,000 residents under age 65 were uninsured. As of Nov. 30, more than 26,000 of those people have enrolled for coverage.

The governors square off in a first-of-its-kind debate Thursday. Let's compare the political rivals’ health care positions, showing how their policies helped — or hinder— the health of their states’ residents.

The state Office of Insurance Regulation matched a 15.1 percent decrease requested in August by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, which makes rate filings for the industry.

Duval County ranks 46 of 67 Florida counties in health outcomes, so easier ways to get health insurance are needed, according to Dr. Sunil Joshi, Jacksonville’s chief health officer.

The measures are focused on people ages 18 to 26 who cannot obtain health insurance through parents or employers and do not meet income-eligibility criteria for Medicaid.

Many private and public health insurers won’t cover the $4,000-to-$8,000 expense of whole-genome sequencing. Florida now is among eight state Medicaid that programs do.

With top Florida lawmakers signaling that health-care issues could be a priority during next year’s legislative session, a report released Thursday showed that Florida saw improvement in 2022 in people having health insurance — but still trailed most of the country.

Prior authorization is a common tool used by health insurers for many tests, procedures and prescriptions. Frustrated by the process some patients and doctors want to elevate their denials for further review.

The multiyear agreement was reached just before the deadline. According to UnitedHealthcare, negotiations stalled due to a disagreement over Medicare Advantage and Medicaid contracts.

The Jane and Daniel Och Family Foundation donated to RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit that buys unpaid hospital bills in bulk at a reduced rate and pays them off.