Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, January 16
Jan 16, 2009
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Alex Sink won’t run for Mel Martinez’s Senate seat
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced Friday that she’s not running for the U.S. Senate, opening the door to a crop of lesser-known contenders.
Concern about drywall grows; State Officials Compiling Affected Homeowners List
A growing number of homeowners worry that they, too, could have foul-smelling Chinese drywall in their homes.
Big health plans lose 190,000 Florida enrollees
The growing unemployment rate drove a loss of nearly 190,000 commercial health plan enrollees at Florida’s largest insurance plans during 2008.
Florida’s Medicaid Computer Still Ailing
Problems erupted with the state’s new Medicaid payment system the day it went online seven months ago, and they haven’t gone away.
Clinic owners plead guilty to Medicare fraud
The owners of two Miami medical clinics, along with a phlebotomist, have pleaded guilty to defrauding the Medicare program in connection with a $5.3 million HIV and cancer infusion fraud scheme, according to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
EDITORIAL: State is right to fight State Farm
State Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty is right to continue his resistance to excessive property insurance rates.
Is Crist Interested In Senate Seat? ‘Not Much’
Asked his level of interest in entering the U.S. Senate race in 2010, Gov. Charlie Crist said Thursday that it was “not much.”
Rooney’s vote on kids’ health care ruffles state Democrats
Democrats didn’t waste any time indicating that they will keep their eyes on freshman U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney.
Fla. to receive part of Eli Lilly settlement
Eli Lilly & Co. will pay $1.42 billion to settle an investigation into alleged improper marketing of its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
Special session only the beginning of cuts, legislator warns
Education and transportation services avoided a major hit in Lee County despite the state’s $2.6 billion budget cut. Health care and the environment did not. And every service could suffer next year as the economy worsens.
Crist asked to veto affordable-housing funds cut
Home builders asked Gov. Charlie Crist to veto a $190 million cut in state affordable-housing funds Thursday, saying that “housing will lead us out of this economic crisis” that forced Florida legislators to plug a $2.3 billion revenue hole during their just-concluded special session.
Florida driver’s license settlement: $2.9M for lawyers, $1 for you
Cash-strapped Florida will shell out $10.4 million to settle a suit that reimburses state drivers $1 each.
Facing a $3.5 billion deficit next year, Florida desperately needs all the money it can get. But millions more will disappear because the state has settled a lawsuit that affects millions of motorists.
Florida’s first commercial ethanol plant announced
A Massachusetts biofuel company is teaming up with a Florida business to build the state’s first commercial-scale ethanol plant, and says it should be up and running by 2011.
EDITORIAL: What Bush did for Florida
As he winds up eight years in the White House, President Bush leaves behind a mixed record for Florida.
A coalition of insurance companies and independent marketing organizations has filed suit in federal court to overturn Rule 151A, the newly published rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission that classifies indexed annuities as securities.
U.S. Senator Shelby Calls For Federal Regulation Of Insurers
An influential senator said yesterday that federal lawmakers need to consider U.S. regulation of the insurance industry, which now has only state oversight.
Former Iowa Commissioner Vaughan Named CEO of State Regulators’ NAIC
Former Iowa Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Vaughan, Ph.D., has been named chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), effective Feb. 18, 2009.
Bill would offer COBRA subsidies, extend eligibility
The federal government would pay 65% of COBRA health care continuation premium for one year for eligible beneficiaries who have lost their jobs since Sept. 1, 2008, as part of a massive economic stimulus bill unveiled Thursday by the House Democratic leadership.
Work on Hurricane Protection System in Louisiana Begins
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that the state and parish are breaking ground on a three-mile, $6.9 million stretch of the Morganza to-the-Gulf Hurricane Protection System in Chauvin.
Mississippi Insurance Department Receives $1 Million Wind Mitigation Study Grant
The Mississippi Insurance Department’s wind mitigation program has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Mississippi Development Authority and Governor Haley Barbour’s office.
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