The Florida Legislature is deadlocked over healthcare spending, including the expansion of Medicaid and the potential loss of $1.3 billion a year the federal government sends the state to help safety net hospitals such as Jackson care for the uninsured and Medicaid patients. Miami-Dade County does not have the money to cover the potential loss of $200 million a year in federal funding that helps Jackson Health System, according to the county mayor.
Category Archives: Legislative Session
Local 1991 Rocks Tallahassee!
A large contingent of Local 1991 members recently flew to Tallahassee to fight for our patients and our hospital as gridlock in the capital reached its peak. As the House and Senate squared off over Medicaid expansion, the fate of the state budget hung in the balance. Local 1991 members were literally in the middle of it, drawing attention to the lack of action of our legislators to expand health care to hundreds of thousands, save lives and protect our safety-net hospitals.
Lobby Day Groups
Florida Report – Week 4
Nearly halfway through the session, the Senate and House are divided on budget priorities. In a nutshell, the House wants huge tax cuts, the Senate wants to continue to fund necessary programs. Health care funding is the biggest stumbling block.
April COPE — Lobby Day Training
This month’s Committee on Political Education (COPE) meetings will focus entirely on the April 15-16 Lobby Day trip to Tallahassee. All members attending the trip are encouraged to come to a COPE meeting near you to learn what we’ll be doing in our state’s capital this year. Lunch will be served. RSVPs to union@seiu1991.org are encouraged toContinue reading “April COPE — Lobby Day Training”
Nursing Injuries Getting National Attention
This month, NPR began running a series on nursing-related injuries across the country. The timing couldn’t have been better to highlight patient safe handling issues Local 1991 has been working on for some time.
Get Ready for Political Season with COPE!
As New Year’s resolutions give way to Valentine’s Day, March Madness and April showers, so too the political season begins in Florida and Washington. Local 1991 members stay on top of the issues through our Committee on Political Education (COPE), which meets for lunch on every campus the second week of the month.
2014 Tallahassee Session Report
The good news about the 2014 session was as much in what we stopped from happening as anything. The highlights include saving Jackson from $140 million in cuts, protecting JHS labor contracts and state pensions and stopping a bad wage theft bill.
Tallahassee Update – Week 8
There is only one week left in the legislative session. Here are a few updates from this week: Jackson Medicaid Funding Gap Delayed Safety net hospitals got a one-year reprieve from a controversial funding formula that would have cost them hundreds of millions of dollars. Jackson was bracing for a $140 million cut as a result of theContinue reading “Tallahassee Update – Week 8”
Jackson Workers Put State Rep. Bileca On the Spot
Rep. Michael Bileca wouldn’t respond to the press and refused to meet with us when we showed up at his office to ask him a simple question — Where does he stand on the amendment to take away the County Commission’s final say over labor contracts at Jackson?