News Service of Florida

A state Senate committee advanced a measure that would allow doctors to prescribe appropriate meds to patients with mental illnesses without having to first use other drugs that are not effective.

The measure, introduced in the state House, includes numerous issues related to the state Department of Agriculture. Many local governments have ended fluoridation in recent months.

Enrollment decreased slightly according to newly released totals. Here are monthly enrollment totals over the past year.

After two years as secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, Weida has been picked to succeed James Uthmeier, who Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed to be Florida's attorney general.

The contracts will involve tens of billions of dollars in the coming years, with about 3 million people receiving health care through the managed-care system as of December.

Green Thumb Industries, which wants to sell cannabis next to convenience stores in Florida, has filed an appeal after an administrative law judge ruled against it, siding with state health regulators.

Here are counties with the most abortions, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration. The numbers reflect county residents who had abortions, not necessarily the counties where abortions took place.

Look for decisions regarding Medicaid eligibility, gender-affirming care, lab-grown meat and more to make headlines in the months ahead.

The most COVID deaths, 521, were reported in Miami-Dade, followed by 449 in Palm Beach and 365 in Pinellas.

The ruling comes after Floridians Protecting Freedom, a political committee that led unsuccessful efforts to pass the abortion ballot measure, filed a notice that it was dropping its challenge against the state.