Governor Ron DeSantis today addressed nurses, doctors and health care providers from across the state at the Florida Health Care Association’s Annual Conference. The Governor highlighted several health care priorities and initiatives his administration has undertaken since assuming office in January.
“Since I’ve taken office, we have tackled a number of health care priorities, and we were fortunate to make some major inroads this past legislative session for patients across our state, especially our seniors,” said Governor DeSantis. “The care and well-being of our seniors will continue to be a priority of my administration.”
To combat the ever-increasing prices of prescription drugs in Florida, Governor DeSantis championed the ability to import safe and affordable prescription drugs from Canada. Following passage by the Florida Legislature, Governor DeSantis signed CS/HB 19, which creates two programs – the Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Program (CPDI Program) and the International Prescription Drug Importation Program (IPDI Program) – to safely import federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved prescription drugs into the state.
In June, Governor DeSantis signed CS/HB 1113: the Patient Savings Act. This legislation enables health insurers to offer incentives to Floridians who shop for high quality, lower cost healthcare services. The bill creates a framework for health insurers to voluntarily establish a shared savings incentive program for certain non-emergency healthcare services. This program not only encourages Floridians to compare pricing for routine services but has the potential to provide savings to both patients and providers.
Governor DeSantis has also worked with legislators and stakeholders on initiatives aimed at supporting Floridians living with Alzheimer’s Disease. He directed the Department of Health to add Alzheimer’s and related dementias as a priority within the State Health Improvement Plan, enabling increased coordination on Florida’s statewide public health response to set goals, strategies and objectives to ensure patients and caregivers are supported. He also signed HB 449 into law, which revises the membership of the Alzheimer’s Disease Advisory Committee and expands their scope and responsibilities to gather information on best practices, research, policy and other efforts.
