Florida News in Brief

Skin cancer screening coverage soughtTALLAHASSEE — Rep. Ralph Massullo, a Lecanto Republican who is a dermatologist, is seeking to require health insurers to cover the costs of annual skin-cancer screenings. Massullo on Thursday filed the proposal (HB 241) for consideration during the 2024 legislative session, which will start in January. It is identical to a measure (SB 56) that Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Chairwoman Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, filed last month.

The proposal would require health insurers and HMOs to cover screenings performed by dermatologists. It also would prevent insurers and HMOs from imposing cost-sharing requirements on patients for the screenings.

Massullo backed a similar proposal during the 2023 session, but it was not heard on the House floor.

Idalia losses continue to climbTALLAHASSEE — Estimated insured losses from Hurricane Idalia hit $269.3 million on Thursday, as they continue to steadily climb, according to information posted on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. Thursday's total was up from $259.26 million in estimated losses a week earlier and $244.6 million two weeks earlier.

Claims from the hurricane, which made landfall Aug. 30 in the Keaton Beach area of Taylor County, also continue to rise. As of Thursday, 23,845 claims had been reported, up from 23,423 claims a week earlier and 22,763 two weeks earlier. The new total included 16,265 claims involving residential property, with other types of claims involving such things as auto damage. About 69% of claims had been closed as of Thursday, including 10,025 closed with payments and 6,457 closed without payments, according to the Office of Insurance regulation.

Medicaid enrollment drops in SeptemberTALLAHASSEE — Enrollment in Florida's Medicaid program decreased by more than 92,000 people in September, as the state continues a months-long process of determining whether beneficiaries remain eligible.

Newly posted data on the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration website shows that 5,161,884 people were enrolled in September, down from 5,254,460 people in August and 5,360,069 in July.

Enrollment has steadily decreased since the end this spring of a federal public-health emergency stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. During the public-health emergency, the state was unable to remove people from the Medicaid rolls, which meant some beneficiaries stayed in the program while no longer meeting income-eligibility criteria. But with the public-health emergency ending, the state started a controversial process of determining whether people remained eligible and, in many cases, dropping them from the program.

Enrollment hit a high of 5,778,536 people in April.

Democrat Ehr exits Senate raceDemocrat Phil Ehr on Wednesday said he is leaving the 2024 race for a U.S. Senate seat and will run against U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. Ehr's exit from the Senate race short-circuits a potential Democratic primary fight against former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who hopes to unseat U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.

In a prepared statement, Ehr criticized Gimenez, a former Miami-Dade County mayor who was first elected to Congress in 2020.

"I am running to represent the people of south Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys with integrity," Ehr, a former Navy commander, said in the statement. "The incumbent joined MAGA extremists in creating dysfunction and chaos in Congress. Floridians want their individual freedoms protected and a democracy and economy that work for them. I will fight for this every day in Congress."