House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo say they are co-signing on each other's health care priorities, including Passidomo’s Live Healthy package.
The $900 million proposal includes two bills (SB 7016, SB 7018) designed to increase the number of doctors, while encouraging technological innovation.
Renner says he supports Passidomo’s health access plans as well as a Senate plan to create a new teaching hospital focused on behavioral health.
Renner says he also wants to create more transparency within the health care system. For Renner, a major priority is battling the negative mental health impacts social media can have on kids.
“Children have always faced mean girls and boys, but social media changed the game and causes unprecedented damage to their mental health," Renner says.
Renner protections in place, such as age verification to limit the ability for minors to access social media sites. Also, proposals would require schools to stop using certain social media accounts to deemphasize use of the platforms.
Passidomo’s plan would grow the state’s health care workforce by increasing the number of residency slots, smoothing the path for doctors from other counties to work in Florida and helping patients establish a “medical home.”
Passidomo says when someone needs to see the doctor, they shouldn’t have to wait weeks, or in some cases months, for an appointment.
“If we do not take steps now to grow our health care workforce, all Floridians, and certainly those on Medicaid will continue to face barriers to care," Passidomo says.
Democrats have pointed out one thing that’s missing is a plan to expand Medicaid. But during her remarks Tuesday, Passidomo said that’s a non-starter.
“I understand the arguments both for and against. We’ve had the debate several times over the last decade. Medicaid expansion is not going to happen in Florida.”
Passidomo says her focus is on growing the health care workforce because if someone can’t get access to a doctor, it doesn’t matter whether and what kind of insurance they have.
The two bills, sponsored by Sen. Colleen Burton (R-Lakeland) and Sen. Gayle Harrell (R-Stuart), will be discussed Thursday by the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee.
