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February 23, 2024On Thursday, the Florida House of Representatives passed (117-1) SB 7016, known as "Live Healthy" - a priority for Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples). Since the Senate passed this bill unanimously (39-0) last month, the Legislature will now send it to Governor Ron DeSantis for his signature.
Most Floridians already face long wait times or must travel long distances to receive health care services, and this limited access will only deteriorate further as the state’s population grows to over 25 million people in ten years, leading to a shortfall of nearly 18,000 doctors and 59,000 nurses by 2035. As a result, Live Healthy seeks to expand access to care by growing Florida’s health care workforce and by increasing the availability of free clinics and primary, behavioral health, and crisis intervention services. Live Healthy provides over $700 million in new funding to achieve these goals, including $134 million to increase payments to obstetricians and pediatricians serving low income families, $10 million to provide free health care screenings, and $23 million to expand the state’s telehealth minority maternity care program.
Health care is a basic right that protects human dignity. The FCCB supports expanding access to high-quality health care for all Floridians.
