Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Jun 10, 2015
To go directly to the section of your choice, click on a hyperlink below. Other hyperlinks to meeting information, bills and news are noted in bold type.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
9:00 a.m.–Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association Board of Governors meeting. To view the meeting agenda, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Jacksonville police asking for help locating man posing as roofing contractor
A Jacksonville man is presenting himself to homeowners as a roofing contractor with Sunshine State Restorations and drawing up contracts to repair roofs as part of an insurance claim, police said. Joe Daraskevich reports for the Florida Times-Union.
Arthenia Joyner again stops proposal that would ease life for Uber and Lyft in Florida
Going back to a December 2013 meeting with the Hillsborough County state legislative delegation, Arthenia Joyner has always fought any moves to weaken the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission’s ability to regulate share-riding companies like Uber and Lyft, SaintPetersBlog.com‘s Mitch Perry reports.
Feds: No need for mediation in Scott’s Medicaid lawsuit
The Obama administration says there’s no need for a judge to order mediation over federal hospital funds as Governor Rick Scott requested because they’ve been engaged in ongoing discussions with Florida. The Associated Press reports via the Tampa Tribune.
Florida House Takes Aim at Hospital Regulations
With supporters saying a free-market approach would spur more competition and more choices for patients, a House panel Tuesday approved a proposal that would eliminate key regulations on building hospitals, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Turner reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
A $30 million hospital issue could get tucked into Medicaid conforming bill
During the contentious debate over Medicaid expansion top Republicans in the Florida House railed against hospitals as special interests and part of the “health care industrial complex.” SaintPetersBlog.com‘s Christine Jordan Sexton reports.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli: Real solutions for Florida on expanding health care
Last week, the Florida House rejected the Senate’s FHIX Medicaid expansion bill. It changed tremendously over the past two months, Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli explains in this Bradenton Herald editorial opinion.
Florida Pediatric Cancer Clusters Draw Concern
In South Florida, a noted cancer cluster encompasses the southwest, south central and southeast regions where “. . . compared with the state, there is a statistically significant 36 percent increased risk of childhood cancer.” Also, “In the northeast Florida cluster, there were 466 and 375 observed and expected cases, respectively, SaintPetersBlog.com reports.
Florida and Georgia governors hold private meeting on water
The governors of Florida and Georgia are discussing how to resolve a long-running water dispute. The Associated Press reports via SaintPetersBlog.com.
Legislators fall short of agency request to make prison repairs
After berating the Department of Corrections for shifting money from personnel to make essential building repairs, the Florida Senate has agreed to fund only two-thirds of the capital improvement money sought by the agency. Mary Ellen Klas reports via the Tampa Bay Times.
As Talks Over Economic Development Implode, an Escrow Account In Question Is Driving the Fight
One of the biggest Special Session hangups has been over an escrow account that holds Enterprise Florida money that has been promised as part of economic incentive deals, but not yet paid out. The money first sits in the account before being sent out to companies, which sometimes ink deals over many years. Matt Dixon reports for Scripps’ “Political Fix Florida” blog.
Florida’s Publix Just One Spot Away From Fortune 100 List
A Virginia-based defense contractor is the only company standing between Publix Super Markets Inc. and a spot on the Fortune 100 list. The Lakeland-based grocery chain ranked No. 101 on the recently released Fortune 500, an annual ranking of the top 500 U.S.-based companies based on revenue. John Ceballos reports for the Lakeland Ledger.
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case Offering Opportunity to Limit Class-Action Suits
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a Tyson Foods Inc. appeal that could give the justices another chance to limit class-action lawsuits, this time over the use of statistical methods to determine liability and damages. Dow Jones News Service’s Brent Kendall reports via Advisen.com.
Here’s how to stop the 1.7 million rear-end collisions on U.S. roads each year
Many of those most-common-of-all car accidents could be avoided if auto makers begin making collision avoidance systems standard equipment in their vehicles, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a recommendation issued on Monday. The Washington Post reports via Advisen.com.
Study: Detroit insurance plan projects savings for drivers
A study of Detroit’s proposed car insurance plan shows savings of $600 to $2,300 for city drivers, ClickOnDetroit.com reports.
The Lawyer Who Invented a Way to Take Cash From Accident Victims
All but two states ban or limit the ability of health insurers to recover medical costs. However, federal law, which has fewer restrictions, applies to people insured by Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the vast majority of employees for big corporations. Bloomberg Business’ David Armstrong reports.
Bermuda-based Fidelis Insurance raises $1.5 billion from investors
Newly-formed specialty insurance provider Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited said it raised about $1.5 billion from a group of investors including Crestview Partners and CVC Capital Partners, Reuters.com reports.
Report: $28.1 billion to rebuild homes from hurricane storm surge in Charleston area
A major hurricane’s surging waters from a direct hit in the Charleston area would affect 112,000 homes and cost $28.1 billion to rebuild, a new report has found. Warren Wise reports for the Post and Courier.
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