Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, May 21
May 21, 2013
To go directly to the section of your choice, click on a hyperlink below. Other hyperlinks to meeting information, bills and news are noted in bold type.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.–Citizens Property Insurance (“Citizens”) Public Forum; Spring Hill, Florida. Florida Senator Wilton Simpson hosts a forum at which Citizens policyholders can meet one-on-one with Citizens’ representatives to review their insurance policies and concerns. RSVPs are required. To participate, send an e-mail to Rogers.Rachel@flsenate.gov or call (850) 487-5018. (Pasco-Hernando Community College, Spring Hill Campus, 450 Beverly Drive, Spring Hill.)
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
CEO Barry Gilway Says Post-Session Citizens Property Insurance in Best Financial Shape Ever
Hurricane season doesn’t officially start until next month, but Citizens Property Insurance Corp. already has weathered a series of political and public-relations storms, reports Maria Mallory White of the Sun Sentinel.
Citizens Property Insurance Bare Bones Plan Is Just That
Some South Florida homeowners who are insured by Citizens Property Insurance may be eligible for a cheaper option, reports Al Sunshine of WTVJ-TV CBS4 in Miami
Florida Legislature Approves Medical Malpractice Reform
In a victory for medical malpractice insurers and physicians, Florida lawmakers have approved a series of tort reforms that among other things will require expert witnesses testifying against physicians in a malpractice suit to be engaged in the same specialty, Insurance Journal’s Michael Adams reports.
More Charged in Florida Staged Auto Accident Probe
Authorities in South Florida say 33 more people have been charged in a three-year crackdown on staged auto accidents used to defraud insurance companies out of millions of dollars, the Associated Press reports in Insurance Journal.
For anyone still unconvinced that Governor Rick Scott knows the negotiation dance and uses it to the benefit of his priorities, look no farther than the most recent developments in hospital Medicaid funding, writes Karen Cyphers of SaintPetersBlog.com.
Long-term care Florida Medicaid patients start enrolling
Florida obtained tentative permission from the federal government earlier this year to move 3 million Medicaid patients into managed care programs, The Florida Current reports.
Blog: Gubernatorial candidate Nan Rich faults Florida Democratic senators on Medicaid expansion
Nan Rich, the former Florida Senate Democratic Leader, suggested that Democratic senators this year misplayed their hand on Medicaid expansion, blogs Tampa Bay Times’ Political Writer Adam Smith.
Governor vetoes $368 million in spending before signing Florida budget
Governor Rick Scott vetoed $368 million in spending outlined by lawmakers in signing their 2013-2014 state budget, knocking the total budget figure down to $74.1 billion, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
- Florida Taxwatch Says Scott Vetoed Most of Its Recommendations
- Organizations agree to repayment pledges
- Embry-Riddle wind tunnel spared
- University of Florida fares well in budget, Machen says
- Scott nixes $50 million for proposed bike trail; $27.3 million in water projects
- In Another Rebuke to House Speaker, Governor Vetoes Tuition Increases
- Hillsborough County local projects hit by veto pen
- Governor vetoes funding for Palm Beach County anti-violence program
- Polk Projects Cut From State Budget
- Governor allows “turkey” Sarasota rowing park
- Airport, lighthouse projects approved
- Florida Governor Rick Scott approves August sales tax holiday
Key Largo State Representative Holly Raschein Draws Democratic Opponent Pamela Gray
Businesswoman and community leader Pamela Gray filed her paperwork Monday to challenge for the House seat, which represents all of Monroe County and parts of Miami-Dade, SunshineStateNews.com’s Jeff Henderson reports.
Controversy Over National Flood Insurance Rate Hikes Causes Ripples in Louisiana Senate Race
The battle over rate hikes imposed on flood insurance program policyholders in Louisiana is intensifying, with the big prize being the Senate seat now held by Mary Landrieu, D-La, reports Arthur Postal for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
Huge China sinkhole kills five in Shenzhen
Five people died when a 10 metre (33 feet) wide sinkhole opened up at the gates of an industrial estate in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boom town neighbouring Hong Kong, local authorities said Tuesday, France24.com reports.
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