Jackie Llanos

Florida health care officials announced last week a plan to submit a sweeping Medicaid waiver request that would allow the state to spend $3 billion to bolster its medical workforce over five years. The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) posted details of its proposed Medicaid 1115 Demonstration Project waiver on Wednesday and gave the […]

Orlando Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani announced her candidacy for mayor of Orlando in 2027 on Monday morning. The progressive lawmaker has been in the Florida House since 2018 and, under legislative term limits, won reelection to her last term in the lower chamber this year with 58.9% of the vote. “Orlando, this morning, I […]

Floridians working for small businesses pay more for health insurance, report finds

Flooding, droughts, and rising temperatures are helping mosquito-borne illnesses spread in places they haven’t before, leading to a rise in cases in Florida, a regional director for the World Health Organization said Tuesday. This year, countries have reported record-breaking numbers of dengue cases, said Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan America Health Organization (PAHO), in […]

Democrats can no longer assume young Floridians will vote blue, highlighting the need for the party to learn how to sway voters through social media, renowned political analyst Susan MacManus said during the Capital Tiger Bay Club’s post-election deep dive. Florida remains a bellwether in the diversity of its demographic makeup, the professor emerita at […]

Officials overseeing the state-backed homeowners’ insurer of last resort said reports it has the worst rate of paying claims were frustrating clickbait. Jay Adams, chief insurance officer of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., said the high number of claims closed without payment happened because the corporation doesn’t cover floods, its deductibles can be as high as […]

Only 22.7% and 12.9% of Floridians, respectively, are up to date with influenza and COVID-19 vaccines this respiratory virus season, according to a survey from the Centers for Disease and Prevention. Florida had the second lowest rate of influenza vaccination coverage, and nine states had lower rates for the newest COVID-19 vaccine, according to the […]

Following the defeat of the proposed amendment that would have enshrined abortion access in Florida’s Constitution, the outstanding legal disputes surrounding the measure are winding down. The four women who filed suit in state trial court accusing Floridians Protecting Freedom, the sponsor of Amendment 4, of fraud in the petition-gathering process dropped their suits on […]

Following a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office announced Tuesday the opening of an office to help businesses in the country operate in Florida. The announcement of the state’s 19th international trade development office, opening in 2025, came on the second day of DeSantis’ five-day business mission to the European […]

Republican state Sen. Corey Simon defeated Democratic challenger Daryl Parks with 55% of the vote. The former NFL player secured a second term in the Florida Senate and solidified the GOP’s influence in the North Florida district that was once a Democratic stronghold. Despite Democrats’ advantage in registered voters in Senate District 3, Parks, a […]