DeSantis signs Live Healthy legislation championed by Passidomo
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation on Thursday relating to the Senate’s Live Healthy policy agenda.
The bills were championed through the legislative process by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples.
The legislation included SB 7016, sponsored by the Senate’s Health and Fiscal Policy Committees, and SB 7018, sponsored by the Health Policy Committee and Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart.
SB 7016 intends to provide incentives and opportunities to help retain and grow Florida’s health care workforce, while SB 7018 seeks to grow health care technology innovation by providing funding for research and production.
Additional bills signed by the governor consisted of SB 330, sponsored by Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, which bolsters the behavioral health workforce, and SB 1758, filed by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, which revises programs and services provided by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.
DeSantis reflected on the state’s role in the healthcare industry, including combatting politicized Coronavirus mandates and the “medical industrial complex.”
“We’ve recognized the need to have a really good healthcare workforce,” he said. “We started by putting a lot into expanding nursing training in the state of Florida. So you have way more resources than you did four or five years ago. Part of that is to keep up with the [population] growth, but also understanding that that’s an issue nationwide.”
“There’s a lot that’s been done here, there’s a lot that we’re going to sign into law and I appreciate the hard work of the legislature. This is something that Kathleen has been working on for for a long time,” he added.
Passidomo said that the governor has been an “amazing partner” throughout the process.
“The good news is that live healthy will help grow Florida’s healthcare workforce, increase access, incentivize innovation, so Floridians can have more options and opportunities to live healthy here in the sunshine state,” she said.
“Live healthy increases workforce mobility and incentivizes Florida-trained healthcare workers to serve in needed fields like mental health, labor and delivery and helping Floridians with disabilities,” she added.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo complimented the legislature and the governor for getting the healthcare-related bills passed and signed.
He specifically emphasized how fixing the state’s healthcare workforce shortage is important to address.
“So providing more avenues for healthcare workers to get to Floridians is a good thing,” he said.
Ladapo mentioned how the legislation also helps the state’s Department of Health in two major ways. One includes a telehealth service for pregnant mothers and the other is the expansion of the FRAME program. The program that helps recent medical school graduates pay down their student loans through rural employment incentives.
“Healthcare services and access, incredibly important, especially when you need them,” he continued. “But we’re in a time where there are a lot of voices out there that want to convince people that health equals healthcare.”
He explained that health “starts at home” with the decisions people make each day, such as eating healthy, getting exercise and spending time outside.
