Health

Florida Governor Says He’ll sue Obama over Hospital Money

Published

9 years ago

April 18, 2015

Reporter II

Governor Rick Scott speaking at CPAC FL in Orlando, Florida. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0)

Kelli Kennedy and Gary Fineout, ASSOCIATED PRESS

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday he is suing the Obama administration for withholding federal money for hospitals that serve the poor, saying they are doing so because the state won’t expand Medicaid.

The announcement is another twist in what has been a gritty yearlong battle with the feds over roughly $1 billion in funds for Florida hospitals. The fight has come to a head as the state Legislature works to finalize a state budget before May 1.

“Florida is the first and only state to sue the federal government on this issue. There are only a handful of states that even have anything like” the hospital funds, said Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

The hospital funds, known as the low-income pool, give federal money to hospitals that serve large numbers of uninsured and Medicaid patients. Florida’s funds were negotiated under Gov. Jeb Bush when he was governor.

Federal health officials have warned states for more than a year the program would end in June because the president’s health law was intended to provide insurance to more people, meaning the hospitals would have more paying customers. But the Supreme Court decision allowing states to decide whether or not to expand Medicaid has complicated the hospital funds.

That 2012 ruling bars the federal government from coercing states into expanding Medicaid. Yet, that’s what the Republican governor says the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is doing because the agency insists that the hospital funds and Medicaid expansion should be part of the same discussion.

“It is appalling that President Obama would cut off federal health care dollars to Florida in an effort to force our state further into Obamacare,” said Scott, who recently reversed course, saying he no longer supports Medicaid expansion.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who said her office will handle the lawsuit, said the state has not yet decided when and where the lawsuit would be filed.

The Florida House and Senate remain gridlocked with rival budgets $4 billion apart. The House is refusing to expand Medicaid and the Senate vows not to pass a budget that includes deep cuts to hospitals.

The Senate proposed a compromise that initially expands Medicaid but then transitions to a program that uses federal funds to let consumers purchase private health insurance for themselves. Scott and the House are against it, warning the federal government can’t be trusted to foot the bill.

Legal experts say the Supreme Court case Scott is using in his defense doesn’t apply here. CMS has broad discretion on whether to grant pilot projects like the one in Florida. But the case Scott mentions refers to state’s ability to participate in Medicaid, not optional pilot programs, said Washington D.C.-based attorney Ken Choe, who served as deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Republican Senate President Andy Gardiner said the federal government has no obligation to provide the hospitals funds.

“It is difficult to understand how suing CMS on day 45 of a 60-day session regarding an issue the state has been aware of for the last 12 months will yield a timely resolution to the critical health care challenges facing our state,” said Gardiner, who is also a hospital executive.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services declined comment on the pending lawsuit. But the agency did issue a statement asking the state to prove how relying on federal funds to pay hospitals caring for those without insurance is a more effective use of taxpayer money than purchasing Medicaid or other health insurance directly for those patients.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Community

Calif. Dept. of Public Health: Got Milk Allergies? Don’t Eat Dave’s Bakery Cornbread

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a warning on Jan. 26, instructing consumers with milk allergies or “severe sensitivity to milk” in the state to not eat Dave’s Bakery Corn Bread due to “risk of illness.” The CDPH warns that consumption of the corn bread manufactured by a Gardena-based company — with expiration dates up to June 18, 2024 — may lead to “life threatening” reactions.

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Dave's Bakery Corn Bread, 9 pack/net wt. 21 oz (595g) (Courtesy of CDPH)

By California Black Media

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a warning on Jan. 26, instructing consumers with milk allergies or “severe sensitivity to milk” in the state to not eat Dave’s Bakery Corn Bread due to “risk of illness.”

The CDPH warns that consumption of the corn bread manufactured by a Gardena-based company — with expiration dates up to June 18, 2024 — may lead to “life threatening” reactions.

“This warning applies only to the Corn Bread produced by Bake R Us, DBA Dave’s Baking Company and distributed to schools, retail facilities and in vending machines primarily in southern California,” the DCPH statement reads.

“This product should not be confused with other similarly named companies with national distribution,” it continues.

According to the CDPH, although the corn bread product contains whey, which is a milk allergen, there is no allergy warning label on the packaging, though it is required by state law.

So far, authorities say, no illnesses have been reported in the state, but if anyone finds the products on sale anywhere in the state, they should call the CDPH complaint hotline at (800) 495-3232 or file a report online at CDPH.ca.gov

The CDPH is also recommending that people who have eaten the product and are experiencing any reaction or ill effects should consult their health care provider.

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

East Bay Regional Park District Issues Rattlesnake Advisory

The East Bay Regional Park District released an advisory today on rattlesnakes, which emerge from winter hibernation in early spring and become more active. Warm weather can bring more potential for rattlesnake encounters with humans and dogs, particularly along trails and roads.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

The Northern Pacific rattlesnake is the species found in East Bay Regional Parks. Courtesy photo.

The Richmond Standard

The East Bay Regional Park District released an advisory today on rattlesnakes, which emerge from winter hibernation in early spring and become more active.

Warm weather can bring more potential for rattlesnake encounters with humans and dogs, particularly along trails and roads.

Visitors are encouraged to avoid hiking alone in case of an emergency, to scan the ground ahead as they walk, jog or ride, stay on trails avoiding tall grass, and to look carefully around and under logs and rocks before sitting down. Keep your dog on your leash to be extra safe, park officials said.

If you encounter a rattlesnake, leave it alone – it is unlawful to capture or harm one. Move carefully and slowly away or around it and give it plenty of space, park officials said.

Those who are bitten by a rattlesnake are instructed to stay calm by lying down with the affected limb lower than the heart, then having someone call 911.

Getting medical attention is critical.

Those bitten should not use tourniquets, “sucking,” or snake bite kits. If you are by yourself, walk calmly to the nearest source of help to dial 911, do not run.

If bitten by any other type of snake, wash the wound with soap and water or an antiseptic and seek medical attention.

Not sure what bit you? Check the bite for two puncture marks (in rare cases one) associated with intense, burning pain, which is typical of a rattlesnake bite. Other snakebites can leave marks without associated burning pain.

The Northern Pacific rattlesnake is the species found in East Bay Regional Parks. Snakes are important to the natural environment, helping to control rodents and other reptile populations. But enjoy them from afar.

For more information, download the Park District’s Common Snakes brochure or watch our Gopher Snake or Rattlesnake video to learn how to tell the difference between rattlesnakes and gopher snakes. Additional information is available at ebparks.org/safety/wildlife-encounters.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

A Safe Place, Bay Area Domestic Violence Community Organization, Opens New Service Center in Oakland

Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence. The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Façade of the new community center for A Safe Place opening on May 10 in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Courtney Slocum Riley

Special to The Post

Oakland-Bay Area non-profit, A Safe Place, announces the grand opening of its newly purchased building in Oakland that will be a service center for families that have suffered from domestic violence.

The new, two-story building has over six new service rooms for counseling, mental health support groups, legal services, children’s treatment, safe space for community engagement, and partnership activities.

Domestic violence occurrences and offenses account for a considerable amount of all violent crimes in Alameda County. A Safe Place is attempting to provide a safe place for families to heal. A Safe Place is the only comprehensive domestic violence assistance program including a safehouse, in Oakland.

The grand opening celebration will also serve as a fundraiser to build out healing, therapeutic spaces for children and adult victims and survivors and survivors of domestic violence (male and female).

The new service center will expand the work of the organization, founded in 1976 when a group of women working in San Francisco came together to address the urgent need for a shelter in the East Bay. A year later, they founded A Safe Place (ASP) in Oakland. Run solely by volunteers, they set up a crisis line to offer crisis counseling and information to battered women and their children.

The organization serves over 500 adults and children annually through a host of services including crisis counseling via 24-hour crisis line, emergency motel and safehouse sheltering, mental health services (counseling and support groups).

Under the leadership of Executive Director, Carolyn Russell, the organization has grown from a single program into the comprehensive domestic violence and assistance program. ASP strives to meet the growing and diverse needs of our growing community.

The organization hopes to complete all the upgrades and therapeutic room improvements by August 2024. The public is invited to donate to the effort by using the website at www.asafeplace.org/donate. The organization also accepts in-kind gifts as well as items from the organization’s Amazon Wishlist.