Florida Senate plan to expand health care access
Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo wants to help you see a doctor. The Republican legislator has a plan she thinks will expand access to medical care. If fully implemented, it would cost just shy of $1 billion.
Florida has more people who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act than any other state. About 2.5 million Floridians – one out of every nine – don’t have any health insurance at all.
We speak to Sen. Passidomo about her ‘Live Healthy’ plan and her other top priorities for the 2024 Legislative Session.
Plus, we breakdown the Senate President’s plan and hear more about key barriers in access to healthcare with a reporter covering healthcare policy in Florida.
Guests:
- Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, Florida Senate president.
- Arek Sarkissian, reporter for Politico.
Free speech on campuses
Dozens of U.S. House members signed a letter last week calling for the resignations of the presidents of MIT, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania after those leaders testified to Congress that whether calls for the genocide of Jews violated their school’s policies depended upon the context. Several Florida members signed the letter.
Florida universities have experienced student marches since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel in October. We talk about how the issue is playing out on campuses across our state with the Chancellor of the State University System of Florida.
Guests:
- Ray Rodrigues, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida.
State braces for stormy weather
This weekend brings the threat of a lot of rain and high winds across the state. For more information on the developing storm, we get an update from our partners at the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network.
Plus, according to researchers with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, about a third of private well users aren’t equipped to properly maintain their own well, or test the water that comes from it. WMFE’s Environmental Reporter Molly Duerig brings us that report.
In Tampa, officials hope to be on the cutting edge of cleaning drinking water. They are bringing a new technology to the U.S. that removes organic matter. WUSF’s Jessica Meszaros tells us how the effort is meant to make it easier to filter out what are called forever chemicals.