Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Thursday, August 23

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Don’t drop car insurance yet

State officials say PIP’s demise doesn’t spell the end of all coverages.

TALLAHASSEE – Florida drivers, if you thought you would be able to drop all your auto insurance starting Oct. 1, think again.

 

Aspark on no-fault

House Republicans in Tallahassee acknowledge that they don’t have a perfect plan for continuing Florida’s no-fault auto insurance system. But they do have a plan.

 

House GOP Proposes No-Fault Alternative

Florida House Republican leadership released a plan late Tuesday that aims to redo the state’s current no-fault auto insurance system, which is otherwise set to expire Oct. 1.

 

Deadlock leaves no-fault insurance hanging

TALLAHASSEE — The curtain appeared to be drawing to a close on Florida’s no-fault auto insurance law Wednesday as state Senate leaders showed little enthusiasm for a proposal from House Republicans that would cap attorneys’ fees while trying to eliminate fraud and reduce medical costs from car accidents.

 

Fla. title insurers drawing scrutiny

State regulators say rates are too high, and they want answers.

This could make the ongoing war between State Farm and Florida insurance regulators look like a mild spat.

 

Crist finds kinship with Realtors on property tax, insurance

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Gov. Charlie Crist urged real estate agents during a speech Thursday to rally support for a January ballot measure that will cut property taxes. He also repeatedly criticized the property insurance industry as tenacious and greedy.

 

Hometown Democracy sues to block petition law

Hometown Democracy asks a judge to strike down a law allowing signers to change minds.

TALLAHASSEE – Leaders of the slow-growth Florida Hometown Democracy petition drive want a judge to strike down a new law that gives voters 150 days to revoke signatures from petitions after signing them.

 

Arizona Congressman Renzi to Retire

Three-term Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican facing a federal inquiry into his family’s insurance business, said Thursday he will not seek re-election next year.

 

A Katrina Case Leads To Criminal Charge Against Scruggs

Mississippi attorney Richard Scruggs, the foremost legal opponent of insurance companies over Hurricane Katrina claims, was hit with criminal contempt charges yesterday by special federal prosecutors in Alabama.

 

Crist has hope the next president will address state’s priorities

MIAMI — The federal government may not be living up to its commitment on Everglades restoration and a proposal for a national insurance backup fund may stall, but Gov. Charlie Crist has reason to hope those issues could be a priority once President Bush leaves office.

 

AMA touts plans for uninsured Americans

The nation’s largest doctors’ group on Thursday launched a multimillion-dollar media campaign to promote its proposals for helping uninsured Americans get health insurance.

 

Fla. Primary A Concern To Democrats

WASHINGTON – Top officials of the national Democratic Party are threatening tougher-than-expected sanctions against Florida over its too-early Jan. 29 presidential primary date.

 

States Decry Children’s Insurance Policy 
 
State health officials are decrying new federal guidelines that require many children to be uninsured for a full year before they have access to government-subsidized coverage.

 

Louisiana: Out $34 Billion to Hurricanes

NEW ORLEANS — Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were a roughly $100 billion blow to Louisiana buildings and infrastructure, and federal rebuilding aid and insurance payments fall about $34 billion short of making up for the losses, a state agency says.

 

UM researchers to review files of 11 million Humana patients for drug problems

University of Miami researchers will scour the medical files of 11 million Humana Inc. patients looking for dangerous effects from prescription drugs, under a new project unveiled Wednesday.

 

Over 1,000 Displaced by Floods

FINDLAY, Ohio (AP) — Peeking into her waterlogged basement, Gail Leatherman didn’t break down until she saw a soggy photo of her and her husband, taken for their 17th wedding anniversary.

 

East St. Louis Levees Fail Test

The five levees that protect the metropolitan area of East St. Louis, Ill., from the Mississippi River do not meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s standards for flood protection and will be removed from maps that the agency publishes to record flood vulnerability, government officials said yesterday.

 

Feds say firm in Kissimmee cut bad checks

The federal government is investigating a Kissimmee company for issuing “worthless checks,” which its employees have tried to deposit at area banks.

 

H&R Block Taps $1 Billion From Credit Lines

KANSAS – CITY, Mo. – The tax preparer H&R Block said Wednesday that it borrowed more than $1 billion from its working capital credit lines during the past week because of concerns over unstable credit markets.