DCF

State records show the controversial initiative shifted priorities away from DCF's eligibility division that has since failed federal standards and left Floridians cut off.

Overall, HHS is distributing more than $383 million to bolster behavioral health programs. In addition, USF received $500,000 to implement opioid-sparing pain-management protocols at Tampa General Hospital ERs.

The three-year-old dispute centers on whether Florida provided beneficiaries enough information to understand eligibility decisions and meaningfully challenge the loss of coverage.

The DeSantis administration slowed down state auditors reviewing how Florida conducted its Medicaid eligibility determinations following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, a state Auditor General report found.

It took a year for Hatch and AHCA Secretary Shevaun Harris to finally receive Senate approval in the wake of the Hope Florida Foundation scandal involving Medicaid settlement money.

The state Senate Ethics and Elections Committee voted 6-1 to approve Hatch's confirmation.

Taylor Hatch was expected to appear before the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee earlier this week but was postponed due to time.

Shevaun Harris got through her hearing, but Taylor Hatch's appearance before the Ethics and Elections Committee was postponed because of time constraints.

Members of the Statewide Council on Opioid Abatement said they have raised questions about the spending for more than a year but have received no answers, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

In a class-action lawsuit, the judge barred the state from terminating benefits of people for financial-eligibility reasons unless it provides "adequate notice."

Beginning Jan. 1, SNAP recipients in Florida will no longer be able to use the benefit on soda, energy drinks, candy or prepared desserts like packaged cakes and cookies.

The law will improve access to mental health care in rural and underserved schools.