With just over a month until we host the 2022 Florida State of Reform Health Policy Conference, our team is hard at work bringing together the speakers, topics, and conversations that we’re sure stakeholders from all siloes will find valuable. You can find more information on our upcoming conference below!
Thanks for reading!
Emily Boerger
State of Reform
1. Florida Nurses Association reflects on the budget
Prolonged negotiations last month between the House and Senate’s proposed FY 2022-23 budgets extended the legislative session, but lawmakers eventually passed the largest state budget ever, with the bill totaling $112 billion.
The budget includes over $126 million to address a statewide nursing shortage, according to Willa Fuller, Executive Director of the Florida Nurses Association. $5 million will specifically aid the newly reestablished Florida Center for Nursing, which will conduct research reports on the status of the nursing workforce. “The Center will also look to partner with health care industry leaders to create a stable nursing workforce, a healthy work environment, and safe, quality health care for our citizens,” Fuller said.
2. Topical Agenda is now posted!
In case you missed it, we recently released the Topical Agenda for the 2022 Florida State of Reform Health Policy Conference coming up on May 18. It’s a set of topics pulled together from scores of hours of conversations with our Convening Panel, key stakeholders, and sponsors. During the conference we’ll take up issues related to behavioral health, health equity, workforce challenges, and plan-provider relations in 2022.
Be sure to also be on the lookout for our Detailed Agenda, which we’ll release in two weeks. This agenda will include the full list of over 60 confirmed and invited speakers who will join us at the event. If you haven’t already registered, we’d be honored to have you join us!
3. Supporting medically complex children
In Florida, state health policy often falls short of fully supporting medically complex children, according to University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Professor Jeffery P. Brosco, M.D., Ph.D. In this conversation, Brosco describes how reevaluating the quality metrics that incentivize managed care could have a positive impact on the 1%-2% of children in Florida who are considered medically complex.
One way to improve care, says Brosco, could be to place more emphasis on measuring quality of life. This could include measures that look at if a child is pain free or able to participate in daily activities. He says quality metrics could also apply to the continuum of care that a patient receives and to the quality of life experienced by caregivers.
4. Details on Biden’s budget and the future of the PHE
State of Reform Columnist Jim Capretta’s recent columns cover topics that are particularly timely and relevant to ongoing state and federal health policy conversations. In this column, he reviews the status of public health emergency declarations and the various flexibilities put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his column released last week, Capretta dives into the details of the “most significant recommendations” related to health care included in the Biden administration’s updated budget plan. He highlights the funding outlook for pandemic preparedness, the Build Back Better plan, mental health services, and ARPA-H.
5. State to receive $870 million for opioid abatement
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced last week that the state had secured over $870 million for opioid abatement fromCVS Health Corporation, CVS Pharmacy, Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., and Allergan PLC. The statement specifies: “CVS will now pay $484 million to the State of Florida, Teva will pay nearly $195 million, and Allergan will pay more than $134 million to resolve claims relating to the companies’ role in the opioid epidemic.”
The state is expected to put settlement funds toward efforts to combat opioid abuse and addiction. In statements, the companies clarified that the settlement did not indicate an admission of wrongdoing. Moody also announced last week that the state is forging ahead with its ongoing opioid lawsuit, which now focuses on Walgreens, with opening arguments set to take place in the coming days.