The Children’s Movement of Florida, a group of prominent leaders across the state who care about the future of children, is gaining momentum.

The non-partisan, citizen-led organization is hosting a series of “Milk Party” rallies in various cities (click here to read more). Alliance members are encouraged to attend and invite patients and their families.

The top two priorities of the Children’s Movement are right in line with those of the Alliance: making sure children have access to health insurance; and screening, treatment and services for healthy child development.

Below is a schedule of the Milk Party rallies.

Monday, Sept. 6 (Labor Day) - Pensacola
Time: 10 to 11 a.m. - Doors open at 9:30 a.m.
Location: Pensacola High School
Contact: Audra Carter - audra.carter@childrensmovementflorida.org

Tuesday, Sept. 7 - Panama City
Time: 9 to 10 a.m. (Community Discussion)
Location: Bay District Schools Headquarters
Contact: Margaret Tidmore - tidmoma@bay.k12.fl.us

Tuesday, Sept. 7 - Tallahassee
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
Contact: David Abrams - david.abrams@childrensmovementflorida.org

Wednesday, Sept. 8 - Gainesville and Ocala
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Santa Fe College
Contact: David Abrams - david.abrams@childrensmovementflorida.org

Monday, Sept. 13 - Daytona Beach (Volusia and Flagler Counties)
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Mainland High School Performing Arts Center
Contact: Leah Shepherd - leah.shepherd@childrensmovementflorida.org

Tuesday, Sept. 14 - Orlando and Kissimmee
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Dr. Phillips High School
Contact: Leah Shepherd - leah.shepherd@childrensmovementflorida.org

Wednesday, Sept. 15 - Treasure Coast (St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River Counties)
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Fort Pierce Central High School
Contact: Kerline Boursiquot - kerline.boursiquot@childrensmovementflorida.org

Thursday, Sept. 16 - Tampa
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo
Contact: Adam Brown - adam.brown@childrensmovementflorida.org

Friday, Sept. 17 - Lakeland
Time: 10 a.m. to noon - Doors open at 9:30 a.m. (Mini-rally)
Location: Common Ground Park
Contact: Shawna Butler - shawna.butler@uwcf.org

Monday, Sept. 20 - St. Petersburg
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg
Contact: Adam Brown - adam.brown@childrensmovementflorida.org

Tuesday, Sept. 21 - Sarasota and Bradenton
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Riverview High School
Contact: Cheray Keyes-Shima - cheray.shima@childrensmovementflorida.org
Seana Mincy - seana.mincy@childrensmovementflorida.org

Wednesday, Sept. 22 - Naples and Fort Myers
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Seacrest Country Day School
Contact: Becky Newell - becky.newell@childrensmovementflorida.org

Thursday, Sept. 23 - West Palm Beach
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: The Harriet Himmel Theater at CityPlace
Contact: Kerline Boursiquot - kerline.boursiquot@childrensmovementflorida.org

Monday, Sept. 27 - Jacksonville
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Ritz Theatre & La Villa Museum
Contact: Amy Rankin - arankin@smag.com

Tuesday, Sept. 28 - Ft. Lauderdale and Broward
Time: 7 to 8 p.m. - Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Location: Bailey Concert Hall at Broward College (Central Campus)
Contact: Pam Gadinsky - pam.gadinsky@childrensmovementflorida.org

Wednesday, Sept. 29 - Miami-Dade County
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Miami-Dade County Auditorium
Contact: John Knight - john.knight@childrensmovementflorida.org

Thursday, Sept. 30 - Key West
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Key West High School
Contact: Kelli Brower - kelli.brower@childrensmovementflorida.org

Times-Union
Aug. 22

By Brandon Larrabee

TALLAHASSEE - With state budget-writers likely to face a shortfall of $6 billion or more in the next budget year, the incoming governor is likely to face the question of how to control Medicaid spending.

The state-federal program, which provides health care for low-income Floridians, is consuming an ever higher share of state spending. Legislative figures show Medicaid spending growing from 18 percent of the state budget in the 1998-99 fiscal year to 26 percent in 2009-10. It’s projected to reach 36 percent in a decade.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott has proposed creating a voucher system that would allow recipients to buy their own insurance. His opponent, Attorney General Bill McCollum, plans to create savings through better managed care.

Some efforts to rein in the cost in Florida are already under way. Former Gov. Jeb Bush pushed through a Medicaid reform pilot program based on managed care, implemented in 2006 for Duval and Broward counties and in 2007 for Baker, Clay and Nassau counties.

The Legislature will also have a say on the way forward, and lawmakers balked at expanding that program in 2011, when it was tentatively slated to go statewide. House leaders wanted a plan that would have eventually brought the entire state’s Medicaid population into a revamped version of the managed-care system; senators pushed an extension of Bush’s reform plan to 19 additional counties. Some advocates are nervous about expanding the plan.

The proposal from the Scott campaign would be a fundamental shift in how care is provided.

“Rick would like to seek a Medicaid waiver in order to allow Florida to create a voucher program in which Medicaid recipients would be able to shop for insurance in the private market and purchase an insurance option that fits their needs,” said Trey Stapleton, a campaign spokesman.

Senators approved, allowing the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration to seek a waiver in their budget for the current fiscal year, but it was ultimately left out of the compromise spending plan with the House.

“If we were not able get that waiver, Rick would seek to expand, statewide, the current Medicaid reform pilot program that was created by Gov. Bush in 2005,” Stapleton said.

The Scott campaign points to a study by researchers at the University of Florida that suggests the program cut costs and improved outcomes.

Combined with changes to health care for state employees, the Scott campaign estimates his plan will save taxpayers $1.8 billion.

Figures by legislative staff compiled in the run-up to the past legislative session seem to suggest that care coordinated either by doctors or managed-care providers can reduce costs. Patients with coordinated care cost the state an average of $3,479 in 2008, compared with an average of $13,320 for those outside of the programs.

Those results are at the heart of McCollum’s plan.

“Better coordination through a primary care physician not only prevents the duplication of services but also the use of unnecessary services,” the attorney general says in his health care blueprint.

McCollum also lays out a half-dozen “principles” for his plan, from providing choices to Medicaid patients to measuring medical results and rewarding patients who take steps to manage their health. He also pledges not to cut rates to medical providers and says cost savings for health care plans should be shared with doctors.

The Florida Medical Association, which endorsed McCollum, has praised his plan - particularly the attention paid to providers’ rates.

“The Attorney General’s health care plan addresses Florida’s low Medicaid reimbursement rates, which have limited physicians’ ability to participate in the program,” Tim Stapleton, the FMA’s executive vice president, said in a statement when McCollum’s plan was released.

McCollum also promises to crack down on Medicaid fraud.

brandon.larrabee@jacksonville.com, (678) 977-3709

From the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools:

Under a new law, private school students who have attended public school since 2005 — but have not received state funds — can qualify for McKay Scholarships.

Also, students who have a current IEP, have a disability and can be identified through Child Find are also eligible for the scholarships, regardless of whether they attended a public school last year.

To learn more about the new law, go the the Coalition’s website at www.mckaycoalition.com.

From USA Today:

A federal government website that starts July 1 takes a step in that direction. The site, for the first time, will give consumers a list of all private and government health care plans for individuals and small businesses in their areas.

The nation’s new health care law requires the site (www.healthcare.gov). Initially, it will provide just basic facts, such as the names of companies, health plans and Web links. Beginning in October, it will list detailed cost and benefits information. Consumer groups and insurers already are clashing over exactly what information should be displayed.

To read the full article, click here.

The Florida Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers (FICCIT) will have a quarterly meeting June 22-23 in Jacksonville.

The meeting will take place at Four Points by Sheraton, 8520 Baymeadows Road.

The role of FICCIT is to assist public and private agencies in implementing a statewide system of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, interagency programs providing appropriate early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and risk conditions and their families, according to its website www.floridaicc.com.

For more information, contact the FICCIT liaison Tameka Davis at 850-245-4444 extension 2268.

From News Service Florida

Calls for a veto of a far-reaching Medicaid overhaul awaiting a Senate vote poured in Wednesday as Gov. Charlie Crist acknowledged he too has concerns about the proposal.

Crist met Wednesday with two representatives of AARP, who told the governor the senior lobby is strongly against the legislation. “

“It’s such a huge reform proposed in the waning days of the Legislature,” said Leslie Spencer, one of two AARP officials who met with Crist. The group’s main concern is a House bill’s shifting of nursing home patients into managed care programs. “”It’s a big change,” said Spencer, who added that Crist didn’t give any indication of his thoughts on two companion bills, which have passed the House, but are awaiting Senate approval (HB 7223, HB 7225).

Crist did weigh in a bit, however, earlier in the day, acknowledging that he also is concerned. “I have some concerns about it,” Crist said. “I want to make sure whatever is passed doesn’t unfairly treat the most vulnerable in our society as well as our senior citizens.”

Meanwhile, more than 100 nurses planned to come to the Capitol on Thursday to urge Crist to veto the legislation, even as it awaits a Senate vote. “

“Low income children, the developmentally disabled, pregnant women and seniors would face delays and denials in care if they are forced into for-profit, managed-care Medicaid,” the Service Employees International Union, which represents many nurses, said in a statement announcing its opposition to the proposal.

This information is from the Family Network on Disabilities of Florida:

The Florida Department of Education is working with school districts to gather information from parents of children with disabilities on how well schools are facilitating their involvement in their children’s education.  The responses to the survey provide important information for planning and monitoring improvement activities.  The survey will be open until July 1, 2010. 

Parents with children receiving exceptional student education services in prekindergarten to grade 12 can access the online survey at www.ESEsurvey.com. 

 This survey is separate and distinct from the school district’s survey that parents complete after their child’s individual educational plan (IEP) meeting. 

If you prefer to complete the survey using a paper format, please call (239) 377-0108 to request a survey and provide your mailing address.

From the Family Network on Disabilities of Florida:

Parents/family members of students with disabilities, advocates, professionals, agencies, providers and others are invited to attend the 4th Annual Heart and Hope Statewide Family Conference on Saturday, February 20, in Orlando.

The full-day event is designed to educate individuals, families and providers of children’s rights and options available to them within the school system and elsewhere.

Workshops will be provided on IEP, IDEA, Dispute Resolution, Response to Intervention (RTI), Collaborative Communication, Evaluation, and other topics. Workshops will be presented in English, Spanish and Creole.

The event will also include keynote speakers, an IEP Clinic (one-on-one assistance with your child’s IEP), a FunCamp for kids (registration required as space will be limited), vendor displays and information, a silent auction and more.

Registration is now open. To register online, click here.

The conference is scheduled from 8:30am to 4:30 pm at Southwest Middle School, 6450 Dr. Phillips Blvd., Orlando, FL 32819.

From a Dec. 18 article by Disability Scoop:

Autism appears in 1 percent of children and is four to five times more common in boys than girls, a government review of health and educational records indicates, suggesting that the diagnosis is far more common that previously recognized.

The findings, reported in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, represent a significant increase from the government’s previous prevalence estimate of 1 in 150, though the rise was expected.

Earlier this year, a report conducted jointly by the CDC and the Health Resources and Services Administration found that autism occurred in 1 in 91 children. That report, however, was based on a telephone survey of parents. The new CDC study is considered more reliable because it’s based on 2006 health and educational records of 8-year-olds in 11 communities across the country.

The previous CDC estimate of 1 in 150 was based on an earlier version of the study on 8-year-olds.

The current research finds that communities saw an average increase of 57 percent in the number of children diagnosed with autism between 2002 and 2006.

Further, the research shows autism occuring in 1 in 70 boys and 1 in 315 girls.

It is unclear why the increase in diagnosis is occuring, but some of the rise can be attributed to better awareness of the disorder, researchers say.

A new law effective Jan. 1 requires federal insurance plans to cover habilitative, speech development services by reclassifying speech therapy as medical and not educational.

The new mandate applies only to carriers offering health plans under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program. HMOs doing business with the federal government were put on notice back in May. The letter reads:  

“All plans must provide speech therapy when medically necessary. If your community package limits speech therapy coverage to rehabilitation only, you must remove that limit for the FEHB Program.”

The mandate won’t apply to plans that insure state employees or non-government workers.

Health plans typically classify developmental speech issues as educational, essentially allowing them to deny speech therapy services. This has been the practice of Florida Medicaid HMOs for at least the past two years.

Children enrolled in Medicaid HMOs such as Amerigroup are often denied speech therapy services because they are ”educational in nature” and “not medically necessary,” according to denial letters sent to families and providers. This is in spite of the fact that speech therapy is clearly covered by Florida Medicaid.

Florida Medicaid HMOs further state that families should obtain therapy services from the school system or enroll children in the state’s Early Steps program, leaving the financially strapped program to pick up the insurance company’s tab.

The new speech therapy mandate for federal employee health benefits is a positive step toward recognizing that these services are medical in nature.

The American Speech-Language Hearing Association was instrumental in this new mandate. To read more about this issue, click here.