who has led the state Agency for Health Care Administration during the past two years who is leaving the chief of staff position to become attorney general AHCA's primary responsibility is overseeing the state's Medicaid program It also handles licensing for the state's health care facilities and the sharing of health care data for the purpose of developing public policy and promoting the transparency of consumer health care information Uthmeier announced Weida’s selection in a memo addressed to “Team DeSantis.” The memo did not say when the change will take effect “We have the best team in the country and I know your successes will only continue under the Governor and Jason,” the memo said became AHCA secretary in 2023 after serving as the agency’s chief of staff There is no word on who would replace Weida in the interim or long term subject to confirmation by the state Senate DeSantis said last month that Uthmeier will replace former Attorney General Ashley Moody who was appointed by DeSantis to replace former U.S John Guard has served as acting attorney general — A new high-rise apartment complex is in the works along River Road pending rezoning approval by the Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission a 268-unit with 655-bed maximum capacity apartment complex will go before APC members during their Feb a West Lafayette property management company specializing in student housing the complex is planned for the site of the current Williams Valley apartments at 271 S The current complex existing at that address is owned by Weida Apartments The Approach's 11-story-tall construction would replace the existing three-building set-up offering a total of 87 units the property site will need to be rezoned from R3W While adding over three times the number of existing units the complex will also feature an underground parking garage with 178 spaces The four-level underground garage will also feature six EV charging spaces for electric vehicles staff comments explained to the commission that the new complex would also come with a dog park a pickleball court and additional outdoor spaces that it is committed to working with the West Lafayette Public Arts Team to install an art piece within the vicinity of the property "This project meets the Downtown Plan recommendation for design and use," APC staff said in the report "The project will enhance this gateway into the city with an improved streetscape and public art installation." APC staff said in the report it approves of the development as proposed as long as several planning contingencies are met one of which is that all current leases at Williams Valley Apartments be honored through the end of May The Tippecanoe Area Plan Commission will meet to vote on the project Wednesday at 6 p.m in the Tippecanoe County Office Building at 20 N Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page In a significant shake-up in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ inner circle, Jason Weida, the current head of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), will be named as the Governor’s new Chief of Staff, sources revealed to POLITICO’s Gary Fineout prepares to become Florida’s Attorney General Florida Politics suggested Weida was the top pick Saturday in Takeaways from Tallahassee an attorney who worked as an assistant federal prosecutor His agency oversees Florida’s massive $35 billion Medicaid program giving him a deep understanding of the state’s health care landscape During President Donald Trump’s first term he was also floated for a high-ranking federal appointment the Governor’s office began informing top aides about the impending change His anticipated appointment as Attorney General drives Uthmeier’s departure This position opened after DeSantis appointed Ashley Moody to the U.S Senate following Marco Rubio’s move to Secretary of State Uthmeier has been DeSantis’ Chief of Staff since October 2021 He briefly stepped aside to manage his struggling presidential campaign in 2023 After DeSantis withdrew from the race following a poor showing in Iowa The exact timeline for Weida and Uthmeier’s transitions remains unconfirmed but sources indicate the moves will occur soon This marks DeSantis’ fourth Chief of Staff appointment Phil Ammann is a Tampa Bay-area journalist and writer with 30+ years of experience in print and online media He is currently an editor and VP of Operations for FloridaPolitics.com/Extensive Enterprises Media No doubt most of the employees at AHCA will be glad to see him gone This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL © Copyright by Extensive-Enterprises 2025. All rights reserved. STAFF LOGIN Jason Weida, who has led the state Agency for Health Care Administration during the past two years Weida will succeed James Uthmeier, who is leaving the chief of staff position to become the state's attorney general Weida, an attorney, became secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) in 2023 after serving as the agency’s chief of staff Weida also has been "a lawyer in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), where he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Boston, and a counsel in DOJ’s Office of Legal Policy in Washington, D.C.," according to his official bio he coordinated closely with law enforcement partners including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration." DeSantis last month said Uthmeier will replace former Attorney General Ashley Moody John Guard has been serving as acting attorney general Weida's departure from AHCA means yet another high-level vacancy the governor will have to fill In addition to tapping Uthmeier to replace Moody DeSantis also must appoint a replacement for state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis He's widely expected to win a special general election for the Panhandle congressional seat formerly held by Republican Matt Gaetz Assuming Patronis wins on April 1 and DeSantis replaces him he will have picked two of the three independently-elected members of the Florida Cabinet which comprises the state's agriculture commissioner (currently Republican Wilton Simpson "Together, these elected officials, with the Governor as Chair, serve as a collective decision making body for certain state agencies, boards, and commissions," including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the State Board of Executive Clemency, the Cabinet's website says when Patronis would have been term-limited DeSantis ally Blaise Ingoglia of Spring Hill Both Gruters and Ingoglia have been chairs of the Republican Party of Florida The News Service of Florida and Jim Rosica contributed became secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration in 2023 Uthmeier announced Weida’s selection in a memo addressed to “Team DeSantis.” The memo did not say when the change will take effect became secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration in 2023 after serving as the agency’s chief of staff XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong> Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value" Listen: Environmentalists in Pinellas County are calling for a renewed.. Roundup of news headlines produced for WMNF Community Radio: Trump,.. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin' Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_4" ).setAttribute( "value" Proud member of Project Galileo and protected by Cloudflare WMNF is a registered 501(с)3 charitable organization - The Nathan B. Stubblefield Foundation, Inc. | Online Public File Or if you just wanna let our DJ know you’re enjoying their show Signup below to get The Scoop delivered every weekday to your email inbox Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" WMNF advises you to check with the individual venues or event planners listed before heading to anything posted here There is a high likelihood that many events have been or will be canceled or postponed Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" LOCAL NEWS 4:37 PM | Updated: 4:55 pm BY SHELBY LOFTON MOAB — The family of a 29-year-old man severely injured in an ATV accident on Saturday 26 is grateful for the group of strangers who carried their son to safety “He had never been to Hell’s Gate and he tried it, and he couldn’t get up it and a Jeep went by and said, ‘just really give it some gas,’ and he tried it again, and that’s when he fell off and then the four wheeler landed on him,” said Joe’s mother She said he was wearing his helmet but he has no feeling or movement from the chest down “It’s an incomplete spinal cord injury,” said his father “Permanent paralysis to the legs is very likely and they just don’t know how far the arms will come along.” He’s undergone surgeries that his family and doctors are hopeful will help in his recovery He’s a welder so they’re especially hopeful he’ll have use of his hands again The Weidas said it’s hard to watch the videos of their son’s rescue “It’s heartwarming and it’s hard,” Kelley Weida said “People send us pictures of him laying there followed first responders’ directions and formed a human chain to pass Joe Weida along in a bucket carefully so they didn’t make his injuries worse they didn’t bat an eye to help our son,” Rob Weida said very heart-wrenching to see your son actually suffering like that.” The parents said their son remembers the bumpy ride in the LifeFlight helicopter that had to navigate an extremely narrow space He asked his parents to thank those who assisted with his rescue ‘say the names,’ which were Darlene and Otto and Scott,” Rob Weida said “He’s kind of overwhelmed with gratitude.” His family said they are thankful for how Utahns have responded to their son’s situation including the Grand County Sheriff’s Office which got his dog when Joe was in the accident The Weida family said Joe has a long road to recovery ahead anything below where you’ve hurt it is greatly impacted they’re very good at keeping hope alive,” Rob Weida said “There are cases where full recoveries are made.” To donate to Joe Weida to help pay for his surgeries and treatment, click here *KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries If you are considering a deposit to the account you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk Follow @KSL5TV The House has released several letters a subcommittee sent last week to dig deeper into the growing scandal at Hope Florida who chairs the Health Care Budget Subcommittee Andrade also is asking for the 1099 tax documents from the Hope Florida Foundation Jeff Aaron, the Hope Florida attorney who also has political ties to DeSantis, told the media he can’t attend Thursday’s subcommittee hearing but would be available Friday “If they do not provide that information in a timely manner, we may be required to obtain that information with the use of subpoenas,” Andrade warned during an April 15 hearing The controversy at Hope Florida stems from $10 million Medicaid settlement the state ended up funneling to Hope Florida where millions eventually ended up going to a political committee controlled by DeSantis’ then-Chief of Staff James Uthmeier to help defeat last year’s marijuana ballot measure Uthmeier has since been appointed Attorney General Hope Florida was started by First Lady Casey DeSantis to get people off welfare and connect those in need with religious organizations and public and private resources The House’s investigation has revealed the organization has no employees and is missing tax documents to provide more oversight The spotlight was on Hope Florida because Casey DeSantis was mulling a run for Governor and lawmakers were considering legislation this Session to codify Hope Florida in the Governor’s Office Gov. DeSantis has denied any wrongdoing and said during a recent TV interview the Foundation “acted totally appropriately” and that “people are doing this (probe of Hope Florida finances) … because they want to go after the First Lady they want to try to demean the success of Hope Florida.” It’s good to see the additional focus on Weida In his time at AHCA he was seldom truthful about anything and was despised and ridiculed by numerous agency staff Reply Another fake controversy manufactured by Trump’s Roger Stone and Nikki Fried chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party and failed gubernatorial candidate and a longtime close personal friend of Trump’s Roger Stone and the new RINO leadership of the Florida House Reply Its about time someone stands up for people in Fl that are on Medicate thatneed these funds not the DeSantis Family Reply and website in this browser for the next time I comment a longtime Shreveport clinic that closed in 2022 The Agency for Health Care Administration last year reached out to the Louisiana Department of Health which provided documents about deficiencies and alleged deficiencies at the Shreveport clinic from 2004 to 2021 Critics contend the information is biased and inaccurate and is part of efforts to defeat the ballot initiative The agency has contended the information presented facts Ron DeSantis after revelations that his administration may have lost $160 million in Medicaid funding DeSantis’ predecessor in the Governor’s mansion “We gave AHCA $160 million to pay a federal fine/disallowance,” Andrade said “Instead of using the money to pay the fine AHCA put the money in the wrong bank account essentially and used it for cash flow for the past two years Because they only reconciled their accounts once a year they didn’t catch the issue until it was too late like DeSantis has been asleep at the wheel on the day-to-day administration of the Medicaid program.” The issues appear to have occurred while Jason Weida served as AHCA Secretary. In February, DeSantis named Weida as his Chief of Staff Criticisms of DeSantis’ handling of Medicaid money didn’t just come from the Florida House, which has had friction with the Governor for months a Naples Republican who served as Governor before DeSantis also said Florida taxpayers deserve answers “I don’t understand how the state could lose $160 million in federal funding but it’s concerning,” Scott said in a statement to Florida Politics “We have to know where the dollars went and there must be accountability and transparency on how it was spent Taxpayers cannot be on the hook and the state should find a way to pay it back to the federal government The last thing the state should be doing is asking for even more of Floridians’ tax dollars to pay back the federal government.” And the Lame Duck feeding frenzy continues. but Rick Scott concerned about potentially fraudulent government spending Some folks can’t wait for Rona to be President of the United States but I can’t wait for him to fade into obscurity His administration is a disaster and he needs to be removed from office and replaced with someone who is competent A game of musical chairs began Thursday, when Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his appointment of Attorney General Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate and his Chief of Staff, James Uthmeier, as her replacement That left a vacancy in the Governor’s Office and inside sources tell Florida Politics there are five candidates short-listed for Uthmeier’s old job for whom the Chief of Staff job would be something of a homecoming Kelly served as DeSantis’ Deputy Chief of Staff from April 2021 to May 2023, when the Governor tapped him to lead the Department of Commerce Kelly previously served as Chief of Staff to former Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and held the same role in the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and Florida House where he worked as Staff Director for the Redistricting Committee and as a Chief Analyst for the Select Policy Council on Strategic and Economic Planning Other past roles include Vice President of the Foundation for Excellence in Education a school choice advocacy group founded by former Gov and Legislative Affairs Director for Florida’s Corrections and Elder Affairs Departments now entering his second year as Secretary of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) He previously worked as the agency’s Chief of Staff Weida’s work history includes stints with the U.S Attorney in Boston and as counsel to the Office of Legal Policy in Washington he was part of a temporary assignment by the Office to assist in the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award the second-highest honor for employee performance In November 2023, he was one of five people DeSantis named to Florida’s Government Efficiency Task Force a voter-approved panel responsible for devising ways to improve state operations and funding Weida drew criticism from progressives last year after the AHCA published an anti-abortion website, which he promoted on his personal X account as combating “the lies and disinformation surrounding Florida’s abortion laws.” A government communications pro for well over a decade Taryn Fenske got her start under former Gov Rick Scott and has worked since 2019 as the Communications Director of his successor she was the top spokesperson for Republican U.S John Rutherford and Florida Communications Director for the Republican National Committee Under DeSantis, Fenske served for close to two years as Director of Communications and External Affairs at the Florida Department of Education, leaving in April 2021 to take over the Governor’s comms Like Kelly, Fenske followed DeSantis into the 2023 Republican Primary fray to work for the Never Back Down super PAC backing his White House bid She also briefly worked as a spokesperson for another pro-DeSantis PAC Eyes are also on DeSantis’ current Deputy Chief of Staff Anastasios Kamoutsas, who last year demonstrated he has no issue taking his work home with him Uthmeier called him an “invaluable member of the Governor’s administration (who was) instrumental in putting wins on the board for Floridians.” He said at the time that he hoped to return to Miami after graduating to work at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. By 2018, he was working as a lawyer for the Dade County Police Benevolent Association and ran unsuccessfully that year for a Miami-Dade Community Council seat David Dewhirst is a sleeper candidate for Chief of Staff a position for which he’s arguably overqualified and across the pond for high-ranking public and advocacy jobs he left his then-post as Chief Deputy Attorney General of Idaho to work as a senior adviser to DeSantis Shortly thereafter, he joined Project 2025 where he has worked “on a range of initiatives” to strongly situate the GOP to take over the federal government this year But he has also continued to work for the Governor Dewhirst’s résumé includes two years as Montana Solicitor General and two years as General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term. He also spent for close to four years at the conservative Freedom Foundation think tank labor and campaign finance cases before federal and state courts and administrative agencies He left the organization in mid-2018 as Chief Litigation Counsel While pursuing his law degree at the George Washington University Law School Dewhirst studied constitutional history with U.S Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and was the symposium editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy Jesse Scheckner has covered South Florida with a focus on Miami-Dade County since 2012. His work has been recognized by the Hearst Foundation, Society of Professional Journalists, Florida Society of News Editors, Florida MMA Awards and Miami New Times. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @JesseScheckner Weida’s lack of integrity and habit for boot licking would serve him well in the position A March 1 deadline for the DeSantis administration to submit to the Legislature a report on the immigration status of hospital patients came and went without the report being delivered Neither the Senate nor the House had received the statutorily required report by the deadline The report was mandated by a 2023 immigration law passed by the Legislature before Gov DeSantis’ Communications Director Bryan Griffin on Sunday attributed the missed deadline to not having all the hospital data on time The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) did not respond this week to a request for the latest edition of the report But former AHCA Secretary Jason Weida in January told members of the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee that the report shows that hospitals provided roughly $572 million in health care to “illegal aliens.” “We all look forward to hopefully addressing those issues in the very near future,” Weida that would be about the same amount as in last year’s report The first edition of the annual report tracked hospital data from June 1 and 10 years of hospital audited financial data It found that fewer than 1% of all Florida hospital admissions and emergency room visits involved patients who self-reported as not legally residing in the United States AHCA estimated that hospitals provided more than $573 million in health care services to patients who were not in the country legally was unable to determine how much of that care provided to migrants was uncompensated or find “any obvious correlation between the level of uncompensated care and the level of illegal aliens presenting at the hospital.” The report for 2023 also stated that “high levels of uncompensated care are more associated with rural county status than illegal immigration percentages There also did not appear to be a correlation between total profitability and illegal immigration percentages All the counties that had negative profit margins had below average illegal immigration ratios.” AHCA subsequently posted a different iteration of the report on a public dashboard; that report didn’t include that information The Legislature appropriated an additional $577,000 to AHCA in the Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget for the staff and resources necessary for its data collection efforts for migrants and nursing homes Florida Phoenix is a news and opinion outlet focused on government and political news coverage within the state of Florida Copyright 2024 Central Florida Public Media A Palm Beach County attorney has filed an elections fraud complaint against a top Florida health official alleging he has illegally used his position to try to tank the state's abortion access ballot measure secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration was accused by Adam Richardson of violating a state law that prevents state officials from using their "official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or a nomination of office or coercing or influencing another person’s vote or affecting the result." "To combat the lies and disinformation surrounding Florida’s abortion laws, (AHCA) has launched an improved transparency page," Weida, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, wrote in a social media post Richardson previously challenged DeSantis administration's fight against Amendment 4Richardson cited that in his fraud complaint to the Florida Department of State. He also mentioned how Weida appeared at a press conference with the group Physicians Against Amendment 4 A request for comment was pending with an AHCA spokesperson Monday "The executive branch is well within its rights in expressing its concerns about a proposed amendment to the State’s governing charter," Moody's legal team wrote in a filing This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule is based in Tallahassee, Fla. He can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com. On X: @DouglasSoule You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed One of Florida’s top Medicaid officials has resigned Deputy Secretary for Data and Finance Tom Wallace stepped down Thursday afternoon Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) Secretary Jason Weida announced in an email Friday morning Weida advised agency staff to work with Matt Cooper now Acting Deputy Secretary for Data and Finance Weida said Wallace is on annual leave for “the next few weeks,” meaning he will continue to draw his salary “I thank Tom for his many years of service to Florida’s Medicaid program and wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” Weida wrote in the email Wallace’s resignation surprised AHCA staff and health care lobbyists around Tallahassee but comes at a time when the state is embroiled in a class action lawsuit over the state’s Medicaid unwinding policy in the aftermath of the COVID public health emergency The state has finalized provider contracts for its Medicaid managed care and Medicaid dental programs the agency is preparing to solicit bids for the Medicaid program known as Children’s Medical Services Florida’s Governor is headed overseas next week Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office announced that he and other state officials would be in Italy from Nov The delegation will be similar to one the Governor took to Israel back in 2019 with 85 people in the party spanning a panoply of industries to build ties between the country and the state and expand a trade relationship that led to $4.4 billion in bilateral exchange last year “Italy and Florida share a special relationship as peninsular entities with many shared industries and I was grateful that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni invited our Florida delegation to visit,” DeSantis said “This mission will strengthen ties between our state and their nation and bring new and increased opportunities and investments to Florida.” Represented will be the “higher education Joining DeSantis will be FloridaCommerce Secretary J Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida and Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd President Richard McCullough from Florida State University President Richard Corcoran from New College of Florida President Rhea Law of the University of South Florida and representatives from the University of Central Florida Florida International University and Florida Polytechnic University will also be on hand “Opportunities for mutual cooperation and growth are plentiful because Italy is Florida’s 14th largest trade partner internationally and health technology industries,” Kelly remarked A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski If Italy likes to be second class to Florida comes first A dinner and drink … shake hands and do business trade ..then get annoyed and tarrif them by more than 20 percent… It’s hard to top the anticipation of Super Bowl Sunday but the NBA managed to pull it off for most of this week thanks in part to action by the Miami Heat Starting with the absolutely shocking trade of Luka Dončić for Anthony Davis last weekend the NBA kept churning out one banger trade after another Other former All Stars traded leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline were De’Aaron Fox Also on that list were Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins the centerpieces of a deal that allowed Miami to move on from its troubled superstar Butler brought years of exceeded expectations for the Heat and over time his tenure will likely be looked upon fondly But his petulance during this season — where he was being paid more than $50 million — left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans and the front office who finally shipped him off to Golden State in a deal that netted the Heat Wiggins a solid draft pick and multiple rotation players Are the Heat title contenders all of a sudden but they earned a solid package for a guy who was a cancer for the team this year and who could have walked for free this offseason and Miami has a frisky team that could give the East’s top contenders headaches in the playoffs Much has been made this year about the NBA’s on-court product and its health going forward as the NFL continues to be the dominant top dog among America’s major sports And that will of course remain true this evening and in the ensuing days with a stellar Super Bowl matchup on hand and plenty of fallout fans will be wading through regardless of the results of Sunday’s game and the league set itself up in a good position to fill the void left by football after the final game of the year this evening it’s onto our weekly game of winners and losers Honorable mention: Hillsborough County Commission The county this week bucked the trend in recent weeks of municipalities moving to remove fluoride from local drinking water supplies The anti-fluoride crusade started after Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo who has a history of promoting junk science recommended localities nix fluoride from drinking water a position years ago mostly confined to fringe characters like Alex Jones But with the COVID pandemic fueling a rebellion against the scientific establishment, COVID crusaders are looking for a new target and seem to have honed in on fluoride. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also floated issuing federal recommendations to remove fluoride Hillsborough County declined to pass a motion which would have removed fluoride with a proposed motion to do so failing on a 3-3 vote Could there be merit to claims that fluoride does more harm than good? Sure. Ladapo is a crackpot, but the National Institutes of Health toxicology program recently found with “with moderate confidence,” a potential connection between fluoride exposure and lower IQ levels in children District Court recently cited that study in an order requiring additional regulation of the drinking water supply A major caveat: That study looked at fluoride levels higher than those present in water And fluoride has clearly demonstrated its effectiveness in increasing the health of teeth So we’d essentially be passing up on a known health benefit for an as-yet-unproven risk Officials should definitely look more closely at this issue in light of that recent study But what’s happened in Florida in recent weeks is a rush to just yank fluoride out of the water supply And we can’t help but think it’s driven mostly by a vibe shift due to Trump winning Good on Hillsborough for resisting the urge to go along with this trend until the picture is clearer here Almost (but not quite) the biggest winner: Jason Weida. Weida fills in a gap created by the musical chairs of last month Weida will replace longtime DeSantis ally James Uthmeier who is set to become Florida’s Attorney General Weida moves over after serving as Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration He’ll get even cozier with DeSantis World during the final two years of DeSantis’ term as Governor as he weighs his next move And it’s likely going to be a high-stakes period with the Special Session drama of last month foreshadowing a far more combative relationship between DeSantis and the Legislature than existed for the entirety of DeSantis’ tenure as Governor That’s a double-edged sword for Weida It presents a lot of difficulty in navigating the next two years But should he help guide DeSantis to a path of political success Weida will prove his worth as DeSantis no doubt eyes another run at the White House at some point in the future The biggest winner: Jeanette Nuñez. Congratulations to the next Interim President of Florida International University (FIU) Nuñez was confirmed in the role Friday after news broke earlier this week that she would make the move now has an opportunity to grow on that already evident success this position gives Nuñez an off ramp for a political future that was murky given the current climate in Florida Despite serving as DeSantis’ Lieutenant Governor since they won in 2018 Nuñez was far from the favorite in a GOP Primary in 2026 once DeSantis hits term limits She was picked as a more moderate choice for the right-leaning DeSantis in 2018 and that past wasn’t likely to do her any favors in a Republican Primary likely to be dominated by the conservative flank in an era of Trump Take her decision just over two weeks ago to back new legislation repealing in-state tuition levels for undocumented students Because it was Nuñez herself who pushed the legislation granting in-state tuition to those migrants during her time in the Legislature Now of course, she knows which way the winds are blowing. And as DeSantis’ No. 2, she felt forced to publicly rebuke her old bill. But make no mistake: that would have been a liability in a GOP Primary, as would her past criticism of Trump Nuñez earned a sweet gig leading one of Florida’s top universities It’s a move plenty of Florida officials have made in recent years And while Nuñez only has the “interim” title for now she certainly has a chance to change that going forward Nuñez clearly has strong leadership skills that shouldn’t be downplayed just because she’s not in lockstep with the right flank of the current Florida Republican Party She is more than capable of succeeding in this new role and continuing to shape her legacy of public service It’s curtains again for Spring Break in Miami Beach at least that’s what local officials hope given their new ad campaign to dissuade wild 20-somethings from descending upon the city and causing chaos The newest ad ends with one of the fake reality show stars saying just not for Spring Break.” That’s clearly meant to be a message making sure tourism isn’t tanked in South Beach the rest of the year And it also emphasizes the struggles the city has dealt with in years past Leaders would rather pass up significant tourism revenue from Spring Break travelers than deal with the costs associated with keeping the peace So those looking to get wild will need to do it elsewhere Almost (but not quite) the biggest loser: Ben Sasse with a state audit digging into the details of his excessive spending with helming the University of Florida (UF) News of Sasse’s spending spree broke last year shortly after he left abruptly as UF President A recent Florida Auditor General report is now shedding more light on just how much he abused UF’s budget As reported by the Independent Florida Alligator which did the hard work originally uncovering Sasse’s questionable expenditures the audit revealed hundreds of thousands spent on questionable charter flights perks for staff members loyal to Sasse and a lavish holiday party The report also took aim at Sasse continuing to take a $1 million salary at UF like the Alligator’s original reporting the audit spotlighted multiple Sasse staffers being paid well above market rates along with several other suspect allocations UF will get a chance to respond to the preliminary report before a final report is released But this already adds credence to the argument that Sasse was wildly reckless with the budget of Florida’s premier institution of higher education The biggest loser: Debbie Mayfield. Florida’s Department of State this week smacked down Mayfield’s effort to return to the Senate via a Special Election for her old Senate District 19 seat At issue is an interpretation of Florida’s term limits provisions Members of the Legislature are barred from serving more than eight consecutive years in a particular office courtesy of a 1992 constitutional amendment hit those term limits as she wrapped her term ending last year she stepped aside and ran for a House seat Randy Fine replaced Mayfield in the Senate Fine announced his intention to run for Congress and resign his newly won Senate seat having some time — however little — away from the Senate while serving in the House announced her intention to run for that Senate seat again if Fine had served a few years before stepping away very few people would say that Mayfield would have any trouble running again for the Seat There have been plenty of examples of lawmakers running for one chamber or another after time away Mayfield herself already served eight years in the House from 2008-2016 and she was allowed to run for the House again in November with no issues as Florida’s Constitution only bars service for eight consecutive years But Secretary of State Cord Byrd is apparently interpreting that provision to bar what happened here: Mayfield seeking re-election just a few months since she served as a Senator after hitting term limits so this decision leaves her on the outside looking in Now, Mayfield is suing over this decision which seems to fly in the face of how the constitution has been interpreted in the past and in that case we’ll likely weigh in on this saga again Mayfield has hit a major roadblock courtesy of the DeSantis administration Does that have anything to do with Mayfield being part of a group of state lawmakers who switched their presidential endorsements from DeSantis to Trump during last cycle’s Primary Of course Ladapo is a quack; who appointed him The same slime ball Weida and Nunez are associated with principles or ethics they wouldn’t compromise as you note They all belong to a party that’s using the National Guard to run prisons that are 50 years old A conservative legal organization is coming to the defense of Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) Secretary Jason Weida and efforts by the DeSantis administration to defeat Amendment 4 The agency has also put up television and radio ads urging people to visit the website Liberty filed an amicus brief with the Florida Supreme Court enjoy a First Amendment right to speak out on matters of public concern “Florida’s abortion amendment could have a devastating effect on the state’s residents if passed,” said Mat Staver “Governor DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody’s participation in the public debate over Amendment 4 is not only permissible but it is essential They cannot ignore their obligation to educate the public about this deceptive and extreme abortion amendment.” Amendment 4 would undo Florida’s existing ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy Opponents of the abortion ban mobilized last year and gathered enough signatures to get on the November ballot But DeSantis and other Republicans have mounted a political campaign against the measure and have in recent weeks used government resources to urge voters to vote no The legal tussle at the Supreme Court is one of two lawsuits actively challenging AHCA’s actions has filed its own lawsuit with the help of attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida A trial court Judge in Tallahassee has scheduled an emergency hearing on Wednesday to consider a temporary injunction against AHCA The injunction request maintains that AHCA is “grossly misrepresenting” Amendment 4 who has been blasting the abortion access amendment for weeks and criticized the state Supreme Court for allowing the amendment on the ballot The AHCA has an absolute obligation to inform the public how this deceptively worded amendment will affect abortion access in Florida That the amendment allows abortions at any point during a pregnancy does not require a doctor to sign-off on late term abortions and eliminates parental consent for minors The government has no right to interfere with a woman’s personal medical decisions regarding her own body Liberty needs to change it’s name because the group is totally against freedom Desatan and his stooges at ACHA are breaking the law by engaging in an anti-amendment 4 affront to our rights to amend our constitution The damage meant that some hospitals in the area—including one with a large neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)—were temporarily cut off from public water That’s why, before Milton hit, Weida reached out to Genesis Systems, a Tampa-based company manufacturing machines that pull moisture from the air to create potable water. Known as atmospheric water generation, the technology has emerged in recent years as a possible way to address water scarcity when ACHA was assessing hospitals affected by Milton the agency made the decision to move the machine to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St “There’s a very high number of NICU babies that are being treated in that facility,” Weida says a hospital may be forced to evacuate patients the machine—which is housed in a shipping container—was transported to All Children’s to provide a backup water supply Weida had learned about Genesis Systems’ technology just a few weeks before the WaterCube is capable of producing nearly 2,000 gallons of water over a 24-hour period by pulling moisture from ambient air There is water in the air all around us in the form of water vapor This means that in humid places like Florida there’s a lot of water in the air to pull from cofounder and chief operations officer at Genesis Systems explains that the WaterCube uses proprietary liquid and solid sorbents—materials that absorb water—that essentially “form a handshake with the water in the air.” The machine then heats these materials to extract the water Atmospheric water generators typically require a substantial amount of energy to run but Stuckenberg claims the company’s materials work 400 percent better than those that are currently commercially available and that they have a very high affinity for water smaller device for home use called the WaterCube 100 which retails for $20,000 and is about the size of an HVAC system That device can generate about 100 to 200 gallons of water per day Efficiency ranges from 0.07 to 0.8 kilowatt-hours per gallon of water and costs anywhere from $10 to $80 a day to operate A WaterCube can run on either solar or conventional energy The machines make more water in a humid environment and work well in atmospheric humidity down to 40 percent Stuckenberg says the company is constantly improving its technology and is working with the US Department of Defense to be able to generate water at 10 percent humidity The WaterCube connects to a building’s water supply so that water doesn’t have to be harvested directly from the machine “The systems are designed to connect to anything from a garden hose to a hospital water system and provide water that goes through four steps of filtration before it leaves,” Stuckenberg says After Typhoon Mawar hit the US territory of Guam in May 2023 Genesis Systems worked with the US Air Force to test the WaterCube 1000 in a disaster response scenario on the island a hospital the size of All Children's would typically use anywhere from 10,000 to 90,000 gallons a day That’s far more than the 2,000 gallons that the larger Genesis Systems unit is able to produce in 24 hours in scenarios where water can’t be restored or transported immediately to an area these devices may be able to serve as a bridge or a supplementary source of water they need to be in the right place at the right time and the logistics of moving an 18,000-pound machine in a disaster situation can be tricky All Children’s didn’t end up needing to draw water from the device; shortly after it was d­elivered the city’s sewer system was functional and water service resumed with a boil advisory “We were able to modify our operations accordingly,” the spokesperson said on Friday Florida’s AHCA relocated the WaterCube to a shelter where it can be quickly moved to another location if needed In your inbox: Upgrade your life with WIRED-tested gear “Wi-Fi keeps going down”: Trump’s RTO mandate is going terribly Big Story: The worm that no computer scientist can crack Yuval Noah Harari: “Prepare to share the planet with AI superintelligence” Uncanny Valley: An insider look at the influence of Silicon Valley It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking In opposing the state's abortion rights ballot measure Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody's office is saying she and Gov Ron DeSantis are exempt from a state law barring them from using their "official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election." which would ensure abortion access in Florida if gets at least 60% of the vote in November "The executive branch is well within its rights in expressing its concerns about a proposed amendment to the State’s governing charter," Moody's legal team wrote a Lake Worth attorney had asked the Florida Supreme Court to intervene and stop what he accuses of being illegal government interference took issue with how AHCA published a webpage bashing the amendment and then put a television advertisement linking to it Also mentioned in Richardson's filing is how the Governor’s Faith and Community Initiative reached out to religious groups to advertise a call with Moody titled "Your Legal Rights & Amendment 4’s Ramifications." Joining Moody on that call, according to the email in question, was Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a Christian ministry that has also fought against gay marriage Richardson said the state's actions "aim to interfere with the people’s right to decide whether or not to approve a citizen-initiated proposal to amend their Constitution He cited a law that said state officials can't use their "official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or a nomination of office or coercing or influencing another person’s vote or affecting the result thereof." But Moody's office said there were procedural issues with the lawsuit and that Richardson omitted lines of the law that it maintains exempt Moody "That broad exemption for the state’s highest-ranking officials accords with the state’s 'right to ‘speak for itself,'" they wrote citing another case "The state ‘is entitled to say what it wishes,’ and to select the views that it wants to express." they wrote that the actions weren't election interference but "good government." Richardson "is free to disagree with the content of the webpage but he has no right to silence (us) from voicing serious concerns about the proposed amendment and the misinformation spread by its proponents," the Monday filing says "Because the speech at issue is government speech it is not subject to First Amendment limitations applicable to regulations of private speech," the Liberty Counsel wrote "The Agency’s website and Weida’s posts are curated by the government to communicate its views on Amendment 4." Weida had posted on social media advertising the webpage that criticized the amendment That move was the focus of a different lawsuit that's also still being litigated Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group behind Florida's abortion rights ballot measure, sued the Agency for Health Care Administration in state court for its webpage and advertisement There's a virtual hearing for that case scheduled for Wednesday afternoon with Tallahassee-based Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom “Florida’s government has crossed a dangerous line by using public resources to mislead voters and manipulate their choices in the upcoming election," said Michelle Morton staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida The ACLU of Florida and Southern Legal Counsel are representing Floridians Protecting Freedom in that case Can't read the document above? Click here Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Florida's statewide election police has shut down two elections fraud complaints filed against officials of Gov the Faith and Community-Based Liaison to the governor for their opposition to this year's abortion-access ballot initiative Darlington said they were acting within their jurisdictional abilities and cited a section of that law that said it “shall not be construed so as to limit the political activity in general elections of the officials appointed as the heads the Palm Beach County attorney who filed the complaints called that "some of the worst legal analysis I've ever read." That exception was supposed to apply to personal political activity not when state resources or authority are used "Their reading totally nullifies the statute," Richardson said "There's not going to be any accountability for this administration's law breaking except for at the ballot box." A request for comment is pending with a Department of State spokesperson; the office is based within the department Floridians have a final chance to vote on Amendment 4 which would ensure abortion access in Florida if it gets at least 60% of the vote Read the Dellenback denial: Florida Department of State letter, Nov. 1, 2024 Read the Weida letter: Florida Department of State letter, Nov. 1, 2024 Richardson cited that in his election fraud complaint. He also mentioned how Weida appeared at a press conference with the group Physicians Against Amendment 4 With Dellenback, Richardson took issue with how he spoke at a recent anti-amendment event that was advertised by the Governor’s Faith and Community Initiative — and said he was representing the state's government in the process This is not Richardson's first unsuccessful attempt targeting state officials' efforts to tank Amendment 4 "The executive branch is well within its rights in expressing its concerns about a proposed amendment to the State’s governing charter," Moody's legal team wrote in a filing. The Florida Supreme Court dismissed Richardson's petition for procedural reasons Florida’s decision to award Medicaid-managed care contracts to health plans following a massive re-procurement is being challenged in state administrative court by three spurned providers Florida Politics has confirmed that Sentara, AmeriHealth Caritas and ImagineCare notified the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) of their intent to challenge the July 18 decision and another one from April The parties have 10 days from filing the Notice of Intent to file amended complaints AHCA will likely refer the cases to the state Division of Administrative Hearings soon thereafter and a hearing should be held within 30 days Sentara said the company was disappointed in the outcome of the ITN as we remain dedicated to serving members in the communities that we support,” the release said The state wants to unfurl the new six-year Medicaid-managed care contracts with plans across the state beginning Sept AHCA will likely start the work necessary to accomplish that including ensuring plans have an adequate network of providers To prevent AHCA from proceeding with implementation, ImagineCare has also filed a suit in Leon County Circuit Court seeking an injunction banning AHCA and its Secretary from proceeding with contracts until its (and others’) underlying administrative complaint has been resolved “Allowing AHCA and Secretary Weida to proceed with executing and implementing contracts while these protests remain pending will greatly prejudice ImagineCare and other protesting parties cause irreparable harm to the Medicaid enrollees of the state of Florida and will violate both Florida law and the express provisions of the ITN,” attorneys wrote referring to the statewide Medicaid-Managed Care Invitation to Negotiate issued April 2023 Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey has been assigned the case Shutts and Bowen attorneys Joseph Goldstein Daniel Nordby and Amber Stoner Nunnally represent AHCA ImagineCare is a type of health plan known as a provider service network (PSN) A joint venture of Spark Pediatrics and CareSource it does not currently have a Medicaid-managed-care contract in Florida An ImagineCare representative told Florida Politics that the plan earned the highest scores for a PSN but was not chosen for a Medicaid contract “We are obviously extremely disappointed with the current outcome and confused as to how the highest scorer was not provided an opportunity to offer differentiating services to Floridians We are in the process of determining the appropriate next steps while preserving our argument that we are the most qualified PSN in this ITN,” the company said in a statement to receive health care through managed care plans AHCA released its Medicaid-managed care ITN to renegotiate new multiyear contracts worth tens of billions to the winning bidders In April, the state announced its intent to award new contracts to Florida Community Care South Florida Community Care Network (which does business as Community Care Plan) seven plans notified the state of their plans to challenge the decision some because they weren’t in the regions they were vying for others because they weren’t awarded any contracts AHCA published a second decision on July 18 that quashed four of the seven complaints AHCA will enter new six-year contracts with eight plans: Aetna Better Health of Florida Sunshine State Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare of Florida All eight have existing Medicaid-managed care contracts set to expire at the end of the year The latter is owned and operated by the North Broward Hospital District AHCA is signing statewide contracts with FCC Simply Healthcare Plans and Sunshine State Health Plans This expands Simply’s current program Aetna and United will continue to operate in the same areas of the state they currently do which pares back its presence in the Medicaid market the company issued a statement following the announcement “Under the contract award in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties Molina expects to serve approximately 90,000 Medicaid beneficiaries The contract term is expected to commence on Jan While CCP’s footprint is limited to Broward County it was offered Medicaid contracts in five of the nine Medicaid Regions across the state Tallahassee-based health care reporter who focuses on health care policy and the politics behind it and business and professional regulation are just a few of the things that keep me busy Ron DeSantis’ administration is leaning on the state’s power to combat a proposed abortion amendment on Florida’s November ballots On Thursday, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration launched a website opposing Amendment 4 saying that it “threatens women’s safety.” reiterates much of the same rhetoric used by political committees dedicated to fighting the amendment including concerns about a lack of definitions in the amendment The website notes that some out-of-state groups have donated to the amendment effort It tells visitors that “Florida is protecting life” and warns supporters of the amendment and some legal experts criticized the website as an unethical and potentially illicit use of state resources for a political message the executive director of the ACLU of Florida said that it was “unprecedented for the State to expressly advocate against a citizen-led initiative.” “This kind of propaganda issued by the state using taxpayer money and operating outside of the political process sets a dangerous precedent,” Jackson said in a statement “This is what we would expect to see from an authoritarian regime not in the so-called ‘Free State of Florida.’” A spokesperson for the Agency for Health Care Administration when asked whether this use of state resources was legal said that part of the agency’s mission “is to provide information and transparency to Floridians about the quality of care they receive.” The state did not say how much the website cost or whether any outside groups were involved in its design “Our new transparency page serves to educate Floridians on the state’s current abortion law and provide information on the impacts of a proposed policy change on the ballot in November,” the agency said in a statement “The law is the law however many in the media have not covered it correctly.” To combat the lies and disinformation surrounding Florida’s abortion laws, @AHCA_FL has launched an improved transparency page. The page further clarifies the laws and regulations for abortion in Florida. To see more please visit our website: https://t.co/BXPFulKag8 The abortion amendment would protect access to abortion until viability generally considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy it would undo Florida’s six-week abortion ban an elections lawyer who worked on the amendment in its early stages said he thinks the state’s website is “completely inappropriate.” Richard said that while some officials are expected to take political stances as part of their jobs he doesn’t think that an agency is supposed to push for a position for or against a constitutional amendment that’s on the ballot,” he said Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a professor of election law at Stetson University, pointed to a Florida statute that says no state employee or officer shall use their “official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election … or coercing or influencing another person’s vote or affecting the result thereof.” Torres-Spelliscy suggested that statute could mean the state’s website is illegal Supporters of the constitutional amendment have already accused the government of levying its power to affect their campaign in other instances a state panel of mostly political appointees rewrote a financial impact statement that will be below the amendment on voters’ ballots The rewritten statement questioned whether the amendment could lead to state-funded abortions and said it would lead to additional costs to the government from litigation Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group sponsoring the amendment, criticized the rewritten statement as a “dirty trick,” noting the group’s prior estimate didn’t include that information Meanwhile, in a move that the amendment’s supporters worry could be “political interference,” the DeSantis administration is reviewing thousands of already-verified petitions that were used to get the amendment on the ballot. The Department of State has asked election supervisors in Hillsborough, Palm Beach, Orange, Osceola and other counties for signatures they verified months ago. The state said it is looking into potential fraud. Floridians Protecting Freedom surpassed the required number of signatures statewide by about 100,000. Whether the reviewed petitions could be used to challenge the amendment’s standing on the ballot is unclear. The state certified the amendment to appear on the ballot back in January. Two election supervisors called the state’s request, for only petitions already deemed valid, highly unusual. To combat the lies and disinformation surrounding Florida’s abortion laws, @AHCA_FL has launched an improved transparency page. The page further clarifies the laws and regulations for abortion in Florida. To see more please visit our website: https://t.co/BXPFulKag8 With the departure of Simone Marstiller from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Jason Weida has become interim secretary of the agency most recently worked as the agency’s chief of staff after serving as an assistant deputy secretary for Medicaid Policy and Quality Marstiller announced in November that she was stepping down as secretary of the agency which oversees the massive Medicaid program Ron DeSantis appointed Marstiller as AHCA secretary in February 2021 after she served a little more than two years as secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice In May 2020, former President Donald nominated Weida to be inspector general at the U.S but Weida was never confirmed by the Senate who Trump fired after disagreeing with her report chronicling COVID testing delays and supply shortages at the pandemic's outset Weida was an assistant United States attorney in Boston He previously worked in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy Information from NPR was used in this report a vertical that focuses on the crossroads of health care policy and politics AHCA turns 32 in July and current Secretary Jason Weida held what could only be called a Secretary Homecoming kicking off with a catered dinner at his house the OG AHCA Secretary and brainchild behind the creation of the largest health care agency broke bread with his successors Rubén José King-Shaw Jr some of whom head associations with business before Weida’s agency and lessons learned while helming the largest health care agency Secretary Weida has been really good about reaching out to former secretaries learning from mistakes we made or the things we’ve done And I think he has an appreciation for the history of the agency,” Levine told Florida Politics who headed the agency between 2004 and 2006 who was in charge of the certificate of need program when Levine was a young 20-something hospital executive in Pasco County And I’ll never forget walking into that Secretary’s office and sitting on that couch to the right being so close to Governor (Lawton) Chiles It never would have occurred to me at that moment I’d be the one sitting in the Secretary’s chair And the first CON I applied for was to build a new emergency department at that Pasco hospital I never would have thought that years later I’d be the Secretary and she’d be my Deputy Secretary “There were some people (at the dinner) that during their time in state government were very influential I loved being in public service in Florida And I appreciate people who go into public service And that night was a great opportunity for us to just sort of take a few hours to celebrate the history of the department was the first Secretary to bring a managed care background to the organization managed care was new; it wasn’t trusted I’m still the only Secretary that comes from a managed care background And I think I’m the only one still who came out of Miami also a place that would be a controversy back then And yet today managed care is the dominant delivery system And so what was seen as controversial or negative or disruptive back when I was Secretary is now accepted and dominant for better accountability and quality and those kinds of things.” some of Levine and Senior’s stories and experiences involved hurricanes “Almost all of my time at the Agency — I mean Because ultimately it’s the people that you work with I really appreciated everything that they did I think probably the toughest time I had was with Hurricane Irma,” said Senior who ran the agency from October 2016 to January 2019 Irma was a Category 4 Hurricane when it hit South Florida in September 2017 knocking out power at The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills a senior living center in Broward County where 12 seniors died following the storm Rick Scott mandated long term care facilities have generators and access to 72 hours of fuel what we found shocking in the aftermath of that was how difficult assisted living facilities were to try to manage in a crisis and the nursing homes were not generally an issue the real difficulty on a day-to-day basis during those weeks was trying to manage some of the assisted living facilities which are very often small mom-and-pop facilities that have had vulnerable adults Levine recalled the tumultuous 2004 hurricane season and sitting in a briefing with then-Gov The Governor asked Levine how many patients were in intensive care units “We didn’t know because the whole system at the time was set up to wait until a request came up from the local emergency operations center If we’re waiting until they submit a request for help then we’re already behind,’ And so he said you need to come up with a way to get that information real-time,’“ Levine recalled calling hospitals and nursing homes twice a day the AHCA team had automated that process using the Internet which was a really early use of the Internet for this we literally invented it on the fly between hurricanes So I told that story about just the ingenuity of the department and what it took to kind of meet the needs of the time And it didn’t take long for us to figure that out Cook’s shared story was about appreciating those who are in public service and recognizing that it transcends partisan politics “We inherited a group of great public servants (from Republican Gov Bob Martinez) when we came in people who were Republicans and Democrats They had worked a long time and had learned a lot of lessons And they gave us the ideas that allowed us to serve better that knowledge accumulated throughout the years — having the time to make the mistakes and to correct them — that we aspire to.” While most of the former secretaries reside in or near Tallahassee and didn’t need to travel for the event Levine and King-Shaw flew into Tallahassee for the reunion Both told Florida Politics they absorbed their own travel costs and that it wasn’t paid for by the state The dinner was a precursor to a May 23 panel the secretaries (sans Levine who left to be with his wife on their 25th wedding anniversary — CONGRATS!) held with current AHCA staff One of the questions asked focused on the redesign of the Medicaid managed care information system The new Florida Health Care Connections (FX) system has beleaguered AHCA The Legislature required the Department of Management Services to contract with an outside consulting firm to analyze the project Dudek joined AHCA when it was first created and headed the agency for six years before retiring in 2016 Dudek shared with staff a sobering lesson learned while traveling across the state for the first statewide Medicaid managed care rollout “We went out to towns I never even heard of To places that people were not aware of AHCA but I found out there were people who couldn’t read or write Who was in the community to help those folks How do we color code letters so they would recognize something in the mail You think you know a lot and you think you have a pretty good grasp of who’s out there And still being surprised at that point that in the mid-2000s you find that Dudek told staff that while it was never her goal to be Secretary If you try to work with other people and get interested in things and being in the right place at the right time there’s opportunity for everybody,” Dudek told staff during the 90-minute panel I welcome your feedback, questions and especially your tips. You can email me at [email protected] or call me at 850-251-2317 The much-anticipated trial over Florida’s handling of the Medicaid program has been rescheduled and is expected to start later this summer The trial was initially scheduled to begin earlier this month but it was delayed due to a death in the family of U.S Howard held a scheduling hearing on Tuesday with lawyers representing the Florida Health Justice Project and their clients and the attorneys representing the two agencies — the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Children and Families — involved in administering the health care program The plan is to take testimony from one witness on July 11 but the full-blown trial will not start until July 29 said she may seek to delay until the first week of August if another trial she’s handling is settled ahead of time asserts that Florida improperly removed people from the Medicaid program under the “unwinding” process that began after the federal COVID-19 emergency expired Florida’s Medicaid population surged under a pandemic-era requirement that provided states extra Medicaid funding in exchange for not removing people from the rolls filed on behalf of several people who had been in the Medicaid program seeks to change the process used to notify people when they are no longer eligible those who filed the lawsuit also want Howard to pause eligibility redeterminations while a new process is implemented and to reinstate those who were dropped from coverage Florida is one of 10 states that has not expanded Medicaid to low-income The decision to not expand Medicaid impacts an estimated 570,000 Floridians annually something that former Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Doug Cook says he struggles with Years before the Florida House of Representatives illegally adjourned Session over a Medicaid expansion dispute the Florida Legislature in 1994 was willing to expand Medicaid for childless adults earning 150% of the federal poverty level Cook countered with an expansion to 200% of the federal poverty level which was less than the 250% of the FPL that Cook and then-Gov This was the centerpiece of Florida Health Security their plan to provide access to health care for low-income Floridians “I feel a lot of personal responsibility for not taking the deal recalling that he incorrectly thought he had secured the necessary votes to push the 200% FPL  plan through the Legislature I shot too high and I thought if we won the election But Cook said following the win the Chiles administration made it a priority to try to sue Big Tobacco to recoup the costs of caring for Medicaid patients “The tobacco lawsuit came out of Medicaid and Florida Health Security came out of Medicaid and they were two big ideas and only one of those big ideas survived But we also believed in a lasting impact of getting as many people health care as we could It is one of the profound regrets that I have.” Cook later established a nonprofit Medicaid health plan I only wish I’d been able to do more I think the partisan divide is a pernicious thing Levine also shared an experience he had as AHCA Secretary that he said he never saw coming but continues to haunt him “There was a gentleman in Palm Beach County who had a tumor on his liver And he had hepatitis and cancer that had metastasized to his liver And he needed a liver transplant,” Levine recalled “The problem was under the guidelines for Medicaid And so I was under enormous pressure to override the Medicaid program and to authorize payment for a transplant And I spent probably two weeks talking to transplant experts and to ethicists.” I never thought I would literally be making a decision about whether somebody would live or die,” Levine said “And (then-Medicaid Director) Tom (Arnold) and I did everything we could to find a way We assembled a team of physicians that just basically said And somebody else will not get that healthy liver.’” And I said that was really truly the hardest — irrespective of all the political stuff that went on and all the interactions with the Legislature which all turned out to be really good — that’s the one thing I still have nightmares about .“ Levine said that he doesn’t regret the decision “I remember one evening I was sitting in my office and I have a Bible on my desk,” Levine said I said I just need a moment to just sort of think about this from the perspective of the gentleman whose life is in my hands at the moment And that’s way more than I ever bargained for And I know a lot of people might think that’s strange and somebody else other than that gentleman needed that liver The statewide grand jury created at the urging of the Governor to look at COVID-19 vaccines and any potential wrongdoing issued its second interim report this week The 26-page report covered “infection-derived immunity” and some of the more contentious treatments that were touted at times during the pandemic The report echoes criticism that DeSantis leveled at federal health experts — especially in conjunction with vaccine mandates — that they did not take into account the immunity of those who had already been infected with COVID-19 But the report also delves into the treatment guidelines issued by federal health authorities in conjunction with everything from antiviral medicine such as Remdesivir to more controversial drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin Those on the grand jury criticized federal health authorities over their criticism of those suggesting that Ivermectin should be used to treat COVID-19 the best we can come up with is that it didn’t work,” states the report at least some evidence it might be effective In such a fast-moving research environment what was the harm in letting people try it as part of a COVID-19 treatment regimen?” The report also contended that the rejection of Ivermectin led to a rise in conspiracy theories about it and chided federal health authorities for letting this “vilification” occur “Where accurate information probably would have quieted the storm the credibility vacuum created by Invermectin’s unnecessary vilification fanned the flames of those conspiracy theories,” the report states “Some people became so desperate to get this supposed miracle drug that they began to resort to doses and formulations of the drug meant for animals resulting in a number of well-publicized Ivermectin overdoses opponents looked down their noses at the foolishness of these desperate The main organization representing long-term care facilities in Florida says it has worked on preparations for this year’s hurricane season The Florida Health Care Association says its members have engaged in year-round preparations and supplemental training and that it has met rules and regulations imposed by both state and federal regulators “When catastrophic storms take aim at Florida it’s imperative for our members to respond with the preparedness plans they have in place,” said Emmett Reed “Our members have comprehensive emergency plans outlining their practices and the resources needed before and after a natural disaster to ensure the care and safety of their residents and the staff who care for them the first and greatest priority is their well-being.” The storm plans involve fuel checks and generator preparations and partnerships with outside entities such as utilities and transportation providers Nursing homes and other long-term care homes have also considered several scenarios including how to handle potential evacuations and what to do during a power outage The association recently met with state regulators and the Florida Division of Emergency Management and held an emergency preparedness webinar for assisted living facilities in April along with safety and security consultants Jensen Hughes and FHCA emergency response team members will share strategies and tools to assist nursing centers and assisted living facilities with preparing for the 2024 hurricane season “The planning and preparedness efforts our members put in throughout the year allow for streamlined and efficient action when disaster strikes I’m confident the planning and training completed this year will equip our members to meet our highest priority of ensuring the safety of all those entrusted to their care.” will hold two disaster preparedness sales tax holidays with the first one running Saturday through June 15 A second two-week disaster sales tax holiday will take place from Aug Floridians can purchase disaster supplies without having to pay sales taxes on items such as batteries AHCA has altered proposed Rule 59A-8.0099 regarding the Minimum Training Requirements for Home Health Aides for Medically Fragile Children. More here The proposed change allows “pseudo patients” to be used in the mandated 16 hours of clinical competency The rule doesn’t address most of the concerns raised in a public hearing last month Mark MacMillin Slobodien: VITAS Healthcare Corporation Snow Strategies: All Kids Care of Orange Park — AHCA approved an expedited CON application from TBO holdings to add 45 community nursing home beds to the already approved 60-bed 60-bed community nursing home by de-licensure/transfer of 45 beds from Miami Jewish Health Systems was one of several featured speakers in the Florida Hospital Association’s webinar highlighting the increased demand for health care and the available pathways in communities to access behavioral health care The webinar coincided with Mental Health Awareness Month “As we observe Mental Health Awareness Month we recognize the demand for mental health care is rising exponentially along with our state’s growing population We must continue advocating for solutions to expand access to the behavioral health care services Floridians need,” said Mary Mayhew “Florida hospitals continue to engage state leadership and community-based organizations to promote an integrated collaborative local approach to reach Floridians ensuring they can access the behavioral health care treatment and support services they need to thrive.” hospital behavioral health care services and school programs that promote mental health “Our mobile response teams are teams that are available to serve someone 24/7 a day and 365 days a year and the goal is to help defuse the crisis and to divert individuals from a Baker Act The teams are designed to provide on-demand crisis services – this is done in the community One of the goals of that mobile response team is to make sure that individuals are able to be placed in the appropriate level of care,” said DCF’s Thomas “Our diversion rate for the use of mobile response teams has been 82% individuals are able to remain safely in the environment where they are without having to be transported to a Baker Act receiving facility or go into inpatient services This is essential because it’s helped us as a state to be able to reduce our total footprint of our Baker Acts.” a child and adult psychiatrist at Lakeland Regional Health (LRH) presented the critical role hospitals play in ensuring timely and quality care for those experiencing a serious mental illness “We should always remember that early intervention We need to early identify — we need to have a system and to identify symptoms and signs of depression and anxiety and other mood disorders in children,” Kolta said “Lakeland Regional health system is the second and busiest emergency department in the U.S with 200,000 patients last year… We offer dual diagnosis so we can offer the services to more kids.” which is a mental health coalition and a local affiliate of Mental Health America shared data gathered by Tampa Thrives on various programs available for children and adults and how hospitals can become more involved in their communities to help children and adults access appropriate behavioral health services She also highlighted the organization’s school-based project “Mental health is very important in schools so our students need every opportunity to be successful academically,” said Zeisse “Improving the sense of connection within the school is a way to support graduation rates and achievements.” — Mark Runyon, Executive Vice President and CFO at Tampa General Hospital has been named a 2024 “Chief Financial Officer of the Year” by The Tampa Bay Business Journal —Sha Edathumparampil has been named the Chief Digital and Information Officer for Baptist Health South Florida here is a recap of other critical health care policy stories covered in Florida Politics this past week “Florida’s 6-week abortion ban increases wait times in other states, study says” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics — Wait times at abortion clinics in Virginia rose by about 30% since Florida’s six-week abortion went into effect May 1 the clinics have not been slammed to the brink of closing “Many said fewer Florida women appeared to be leaving the state for abortion care than was widely expected — a finding they largely attributed to the increasing availability of telemedicine and abortion pills in addition to long driving distances that may leave some women feeling they have no choice but to carry their unwanted pregnancy,” the Post reported “Tampa General’s John Couris appointed to Florida’s Healthcare Innovation Council” via Florida Politics — Senate President Kathleen Passidomo appointed Tampa General Hospital President and CEO Couris to the newly established Florida Healthcare Innovation Council last month The Council was recently created to address issues facing the health care industry with fresh perspectives from leaders and innovators across the industry “John Couris was instrumental in the development of the Live Healthy initiative His transformational vision for our health care system is increasing access improving care and reducing costs for patients,” Passidomo said “I am pleased to appoint him to the Live Healthy Innovation Council.” “Florida to allow doctors to perform C-sections outside hospitals” via Phil Galewitz of NBC News — Florida has become the first state to allow doctors to perform cesarean sections outside of hospitals siding with a private equity-owned physicians group that says the change will lower costs and give pregnant women the homier birthing atmosphere that many desire But the hospital industry and the nation’s leading obstetricians’ association say that even though some Florida hospitals have closed their maternity wards in recent years performing C-sections in doctor-run clinics will increase the risks for women and babies when complications arise “Field shrinks in race for one Sarasota Memorial Hospital Board seat, candidate ineligible” via Earle Kimel of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune — Dr one of three declared Republican candidates for At-Large Seat three on the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board citing a desire to stay out of a three-way battle that might have forced a runoff after the Aug But Becker-Musante was also not eligible to run this year because she did not register as a Republican until Feb Since that was after closing the registration books for the Presidential Preference Primary Any candidate seeking a party nomination must be registered as a party member for 365 days before the qualifying period 9 a.m. — The Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Subcommittee meets virtually. More here Diagnosis is written by Christine Jordan Sexton and edited by Drew Wilson Details: cache-fra-eddf8230134-FRA 1746536627 2914466038 A federal Judge handed Florida a stinging defeat in court by tossing a lawsuit that challenged rules for children’s health insurance programs who was appointed by former President Donald Trump saying the court lacks jurisdiction over the dispute but Jung said the state needed to challenge the rules at the federal agency level first including 15,000 whom the federal government maintains should not have been dropped Jung said federal administrative court is the proper venue for the state’s dispute with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) over the new continuous eligibility requirements “The court decision is good news for children in Florida and across the country,” said Joan Alker research professor and the executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families “The actions of the (Ron) DeSantis Administration over the last year have shown a callous disregard for children’s health coverage,” she added “The state has disenrolled hundreds of thousands of children losing Medicaid coverage during the unwinding many of whom likely remain eligible and appears to be the only state that has kicked off thousands of children from (the children’s health insurance program) in contravention to the new federal law which went into effect January 1 The Agency for Health Care Administration did not immediately respond to requests for comments AHCA Secretary Jason Weida had previously defended the state’s legal actions and the decision to drop children from the program after Florida Politics first reported the news in April AHCA insisted that the federal guidelines were an “unlawful mandate.” AHCA subsequently sent the following statement after initial publication of the story Friday: “The Agency firmly disagrees with today’s decision and intends to appeal It’s unfortunate the Court did not address the merits of our case.” Florida KidCare is an optional Medicaid expansion created in 1998 for children aged 5-18 living in families earning too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid — which is free — but no more than 200% of the federal poverty level Families pay monthly premiums and copayments toward the costs of the coverage The remainder of the costs are subsidized by state and federal Medicaid dollars There are no copayments or premiums in the traditional Medicaid program it was optional for states to provide children enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP with 12 months of continuous eligibility The 2023 federal budget, which amended federal law, requires states to provide 12 months of continuous coverage to Medicaid and CHIP eligible children beginning Jan. 1, 2024. Biden’s administration announced it would enforce the mandate in an October 2023 FAQ document and that children could not be terminated for failing to pay premiums AHCA filed what Jung referred to in his order as an “instant lawsuit” in federal court in February The dispute between the state and the federal government is the underlying reason the DeSantis administration has not increased access to the subsidized policies allowing families to earn up to 300% of the federal poverty level and maintain subsidized coverage The expansion was championed by House Speaker Paul Renner The expansion is expected to help an additional 42,000 children qualify for subsidized health insurance coverage the state said it collects $30 million in KidCare premiums and that cost-sharing is vital to the sustainability and expansion of CHIP Florida also maintains that CHIP cost sharing enables it to meet the balanced budget requirement of the Florida Constitution The ruling was also praised by Florida Policy Institute (FPI) and Florida Health Justice Project (FHJP) “We applaud the judge’s decision to dismiss this case The new law and interpretation by CMS regarding continuous eligibility will enable tens of thousands more children and youth to receive much needed health care without fear of early termination of coverage,” said Sadaf Knight said: “The court’s decision today completely eliminates any excuse Florida believed it had beginning January 1 2024 to disenroll children from CHIP/KidCare when their parents miss a single premium payment Florida must stop these disenrollments immediately and direct its resources toward expanding and improving access to health care for Florida’s children rather than impeding it.” slap down for Snidley Whiplash DeSantis and a triumph for sick Florida kids Ashley Moody and DeSantis deserve each other Florida residents deserve better leadership does desantis not know how bad these issues make him look Let poor children suffer – cruelty is almost always the point with Rhonda’s culture wars Too bad the judge didn’t just toss DeSantis out Hooray for judicial system and stopping these illegal legislators Desantis’s Bible must cut off right after “suffer the children”… The total premiums involved here are $30 million per year — less than how many personal extravagances of His Eminence Dee