Hospitals Battle Cost Transparency Rules
September 29, 2017
Florida hospitals are battling back against a pair of proposed “transparency” rules requiring hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to provide information to patients and prospective patients about potential costs of treatment.
A statewide group that represents most hospitals filed an administrative challenge last week that maintains the rules go beyond what is authorized by law.
The Florida Hospital Association also maintains the state underestimated the fiscal impact of the proposed rules and contends the rules require legislative approval before implementation because they would increase costs to hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers by more than $1 million over a 5-year period.
Agency for Health Care Administration spokeswoman Shelisha Coleman said the state doesn’t comment on pending legal matters and declined further comment. The agency filed a motion Tuesday arguing that an administrative law judge should dismiss the case.
The Florida Hospital Association represents more than 200 hospitals and health systems across the state. Many of those facilities also own or operate ambulatory surgical centers. The challenged rules — one aimed at hospitals, the other at ambulatory surgical centers — would require the facilities to provide information both online and personally to patients, prospective patients and responsible parties.
In the challenge, the association contends that what are known as “statements of estimated regulatory costs” developed by AHCA show a “minimal” fiscal impact but that the costs are “substantial.”
“For example, and without limitation, the technology related development costs associated with including information on facility websites that could instead be included on a site maintained by an agency vendor are well in excess of $1 million,” the challenge said.
The case marks another showdown between hospitals and the administration of Gov. Rick Scott, a former health-care executive.
Following a bruising 2015 legislative session that was forced into overtime after a divisive battle over Medicaid expansion, Scott assembled a blue-ribbon panel to examine the costs of health care at Florida hospitals.
The following session, Scott made health-care “transparency” one of his top priorities with the Legislature. The governor initially wanted to cap what hospitals could charge patients. Hospitals that exceeded those price caps could have been prosecuted by the state attorney general.
Though the Legislature was supportive of “transparency,” it didn’t embrace caps or criminal penalties.
Ultimately, lawmakers passed and Scott signed into law a bill that requires hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to provide access to searchable information on their websites about “service bundles.” The information would give patients and potential patients access to data about estimated average payments received — excluding Medicare and Medicaid — and estimated payment ranges for each service bundle, by facility, facilities within geographic boundaries, and nationally. The facilities would be required to disclose that the information is an estimate of costs and that actual costs would be based on services actually provided to patients.
Agencies approve rules to carry out the details of state laws.
The hospital association maintains in its challenge to the transparency rules that a lower-cost alternative would be to allow hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to post price information through a hyperlink that would allow patients and potential patients to connect to a site maintained by the agency.
David Ashburn, outside general counsel for the association, noted in the administrative challenge that the 2016 law allows for hospitals to meet the posting requirements through a hyperlink and that in meetings with the industry over the summer, AHCA staff assured hospitals that would be the case.
Ashburn told The News Service of Florida on Thursday that the industry isn’t opposed to “transparency,” and the challenge addresses “a few very specific terms of the rule to ensure the hospitals will be in compliance.”
by Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida
Three Injured In Beulah Crash
September 28, 2017
Three people were injured — at least two of them as “trauma alerts” — in a Thursday morning crash in Beulah.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 30-year old Jacob L. Pate of Mobile was driving a tractor-trailer rig that crossed over the lane divider as he entered the intersection of Nine Mile Road and Beulah Road. His truck collided with a Ford F150 driven by 55-year old Jimmy D. Marlow of Pensacola.
The tractor-trailer continued where it collided with a Ford F150 lawn service truck driven by 54-year old Roy D. Grissom of Pensacola before jackknifing and hitting a tree.
Grissom and his passenger, 45-year old James Rafferty, were seriously injured. Rafferty was airlifted by LifeFlight helicopter to Baptist Hospital, while Grissom was transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital.
Marlow received minor injuries; Pate was not injured.
Pate was cited for failure to maintain a single lane by the FHP.
NorthEscambia.com reader submitted and Kristi Barbour photos, click to enlarge.
Sheriff Texts Three Commissioners: Expect Patrol Cuts In Your District
September 28, 2017
Less than two hours after the Escambia County Commission passed a budget short of the demands made by Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan, the sheriff texted at least three commissioners letting them know that patrols would be reduced in their district.
“I’d like to say I was surprised by the timing of the message, but I was not,” Commissioner Steven Barry said.
The text sent to Commissioners Barry, Jeff Bergosh and Grover Robinson said, “Your district is one of those that will see a reduction of patrol coverage”. Commissioners Lumon May and Doug Underhill have said they did not receive the text Tuesday night.
“I get an unsolicited text saying, ‘Your district is subject to reduced patrols,’ yeah it was unsettling,” Commissioner Jeff Bergosh said. “The timing wasn’t good. The optics don’t look good.”
The commission passed a $455.8 million budget Tuesday night that included a 3 percent across the board raise for all permanent county employees…including those at the Sheriff’s Office. Morgan fought for pay raises and changes in the pay structure in his department in order to retain deputies. He said he will appeal the budget to the governor because it did not nothing to help him retain deputies that are leaving the department due to pay that is lower than surrounding departments.
“The timing of this text, right after the meeting where we attempted to compromise with Sheriff Morgan (where we bumped his budget up to give all his men a 3% raise) could be construed by some as retaliatory or worse yet…..threatening,” Bergosh wrote Wednesday on his blog. “All because, apparently, we did not fund him an 8% year over year budget increase…What a disappointment.”
Morgan sent an email to commissioners, and a text to at least one commissioner, inviting them back in July to attend individual meetings over his “realignment of our limited resources”. He also posted a public video on YouTube and social media in which he said deputies would be reassigned from unnamed low crime areas to areas with higher crime.
“For some reason, that doesn’t seem to get through to anybody and so now we’re at this juncture of where it’s time to make these moves and people are acting like there’s a revelation,” Morgan said. “‘Oh my God, the sheriff is actually going to reduce these things,’ Of course I am, I’ve been telling you for months.”
Morgan said the text messages were in no way retaliation.
“Hurl the allegations if you’d like, this is the new norm in Escambia County until we can correct it,” Morgan said.
Barry said Tuesday’s text from the Morgan was not the first he had received from the sheriff during the summer budget battles, and he did not respond to any of them.
“I received several text messages from Sheriff Morgan this summer, and upon the advice of our board counsel, I archived each one. As only one of five board members who need to work together collectively, responding to the messages did not seem particularly prudent. However, I did have a very informative hour long meeting with Chief Financial Officer Henrique Dias and Chief Deputy Haines last week.”
Both Barry and Bergosh said they are disappointed that Morgan will cut patrols in their districts.
“To say I am disappointed that the sheriff is telling District 1 that we will receive a reduction of patrol coverage is an understatement. We have had big issues with crime in West Escambia, Myrtle Grove, Avondale, Bellview, and other areas of District 1. We have had murders in Beulah…residents in Logan Place have endured a rash of car burglaries–and to say these areas are going to receive ‘a reduction of patrol coverage’ is astonishingly disappointing,” Bergosh wrote.
“In each of my five years as a county commissioner, we have included 3 percent raises in each budget for every employee at the Sheriff’s Office, so I will be very disappointed if there is any further reduction in patrols in District 5,” Barry said.
Morgan has said the patrol reductions will occur October 1.
Pictured top: Screenshot from a Tuesday night text from Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan to Escambia County Commissioner Stephen Barry. Pictured below: Screenshots of texts Barry received during the summer from Morgan. Barry said he did not reply to any of the texts. Click any image to enlarge.
Man Arrested With Pot, Heroin, Cocaine, Prescription Meds And Psychedelic Mushrooms
September 28, 2017
An Escambia County was charged with multiple drug offenses after a Pensacola Beach traffic stop, including the possession of psychedelic mushrooms.
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, 19-year old Brian Austin Robles-Charles of Ten Mile Road, was traveling at 45 mph in a 30 mph zone on Pensacola Beach Boulevard. His Ford Mustang was searched during a traffic stop after a deputy allegedly smelled and observed marijuana.
Deputies reported finding in the vehicle 34.4 grams of marijuana, marijuana resin, 10.4 grams of mushrooms in Ziploc bags, multiple controlled substance pills including Adderall, Oxycontin and Alprazolam, 5.5 bars of Xanax, heroin and cocaine.
Robles-Charles was charged with possession of marijuana over 20 grams with the intent to sell, possession of marijuana resin, five counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, possession of cocaine, possession of heroin with intent to sell and possession of Psilocybin mushrooms with intent to sell.
Robles-Charles remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $100,000.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
September 28, 2017
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending September 21 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
No report received for Escambia County.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officer Hutchinson obtained information that a deer had been taken illegally by a subject in the Munson area. Officer Hutchinson and Lieutenant Hahr went to the suspect’s residence and located several suspects around their barn. While Officer Hutchinson interviewed suspects, Lieutenant Hahr obtained permission to look in the barn and located a cooler containing two freshly killed deer. One of the suspects admitted to killing a “nice 7-point buck” in velvet and another admitted to killing a spike. Since both deer were killed in Alabama, the officers and two suspects met with Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources officers at the state line. The two men were charged with possession of a freshly killed deer out of season in Florida and taking deer at night in Alabama. Two deer and two firearms were seized as evidence.
Officer Jones was responding to a complaint when he observed a vehicle driving erratically in Navarre. While following this vehicle, he observed the vehicle swerving and partially running off the road. Officer Jones contacted the driver, after the driver suddenly stopped on the roadside. After completing an interview and subsequent field sobriety tasks, Officer Jones suspected the driver to be impaired. The driver was placed under arrest for DUI and transported to the Santa Rosa County Jail. The subject provided a breath sample which was four times the legal limit.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Inmate Serving Life Bites Century Correctional Officer
September 28, 2017
A correctional officer was recently assaulted at Century Correctional Institution.
Inmate George L. Strickland assaulted the officer, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. Strickland became combative and bit the officer in the leg. Staff responded appropriately, and the inmate was subdued, according to the FDOC.
Medical staff examined the officer and noted injuries. Strickland will receive a disciplinary report for this assault.
Strickland was serving a life sentence out of Orange County for a burglary with an assault. He has a long criminal record that includes multiple burglary convictions, robbery, aggravated battery and grand theft.
Byrneville Elementary Board Talks Hold On Building Plans, Pay Raises, New Board Member
September 28, 2017
The Byrneville Elementary School Board of Directors has hit a few minor bumps in the road in their plans to construct a new building.
But none of those bumps are set to halt plans, rather just to slow them down according to Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan during a board meeting Wednesday afternoon at the school.
The board is awaiting answers from the state about about capital outlay funding before moving forward with plans to acquire their school property from the Escambia County School District in order to continue with any construction plans.
The charter school is considering the construction of a new multi-million dollar modern building containing 8-10 classrooms, likely a cafetorium and possibly even a small gym. The largest building on the current Byrneville campus was build in 1941 and contains five classrooms, plus offices and a cafeteria.
Also Wednesday, the Byrneville board decided to align their educational support personnel pay scale with that of the Escambia County School District. Once the plans are finalized and approved at an upcoming board meeting, the pay changes will be retroactive for the school year. The change will result in a slight pay raise for the support employees.
And a new member of the board was approved Wednesday. Chris Hawkins was appointed to the board as a community member. Hawkins is employed as a nurse and is the pastor at Byrneville United Methodist Church. He will replace Michelle Driskell who resigned recently after four years on the board.
Pictured: Byrneville Elementary School Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan address board members Melanie Killam and Jeremy Hawsey Wednesday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Gilmore Promoted To Pensacola Fire Department Captain
September 28, 2017
North Escambia resident Ben Gilmore was promoted Wednesday to the rank of captain with the Pensacola Fire Department. Gilmore has been with the Pensacola Fire Department since August 2006. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Open House Saturday At Roy Hyatt Environmental Center
September 28, 2017
The annual open house will be held Saturday at the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center in Cantonment.
Visitors will have the opportunity to stroll through the center’s butterfly garden, hike the many nature trails, climb aboard the bird bus to do some bird watching, visit the resident reptiles, meet beautiful birds of prey with the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida, peer at the daytime sky through telescopes with the the Escambia Amateur Astronomy Assoc., and learn about bats with UF/IFAS Escambia County Extension agents.
There will also be a silent auction, and hotdogs, chips, water and baked goods will be available for a smaller donation.
The Roy Hyatt Environmental Center is at 1300 Tobias Road, Cantonment. The events and open house will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call (850) 937-2117.
Industry Group Backs Seven Day Limit On Opiod Prescriptions
September 28, 2017
As Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders start to move forward with plans to address the state’s opioid epidemic, a major pharmaceutical-industry group said Wednesday it would support a seven-day limit on initial prescriptions of pain medications.
Scott said Tuesday he will seek a change in state law that would place a three-day limit on opioid prescriptions, though the prescriptions could be up to seven days under some conditions.
House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s office said the proposal would apply to initial prescriptions of drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin. While not limited to Florida, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Wednesday that it would support seven-day limits on initial supplies of “acute pain” opioid prescriptions, with doctors able to deviate in certain circumstances such as when treating cancer-related pain or when providing hospice care.
“We are taking this step because we believe the worsening opioid epidemic demands additional solutions, with new protections for patients,” Stephen J. Ubl, president & CEO of the industry group, said in a prepared statement. “Too often, individuals receive a 30-day supply of opioid medicines for minor treatments or short-term pain. Overprescribing and dispensing can lead to patients taking opioids longer than necessary or to excess pills falling into the wrong hands.”
The proposals announced Tuesday by Scott, including spending $50 million on programs such as drug treatment, are expected to be debated during the 2018 legislative session, which starts in January.
by The News Service of Florida