TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Senate unanimously approved on Thursday a roughly $800 million package that seeks to bolster Florida’s medical workforce and broaden the public’s access to health care.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Live Healthy Act seeks to recruit and retain more medical staff

  •  It also seeks to broaden access to health care

  •  The Florida Senate approved the proposal unanimously

  • To the dismay of Florida Democrats, the proposal does not expand Medicaid

A priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, the Live Healthy Act now awaits consideration in the Florida House. If approved there, the measure goes next to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the final stop to becoming a law.

In a surprise move, lawmakers proposed and adopted an amendment renaming a portion of the bill after Passidomo’s late father Dr. Alfonso Cinotti, who died last year at the age of 100. The surprise gesture drew tears.

“I miss my dad a lot, but his legacy is gonna live on in this bill,” Passidomo told lawmakers atop the Senate rostrum. 

The Live Healthy bill hopes to recruit and retain more medical staff in Florida. To do that, lawmakers are channeling millions into state med schools. The measure would increase residency slots at universities. It would also provide greater loan repayment options to health care professionals.

“This is a game changer,” said Stuart Republican Gayle Harrell, a bill sponsor.

To the dismay of Democrats, the Live Healthy bill does not expand Medicaid. Instead, it creates a cost-free health care screening program. It also pioneers a grant program that emphasizes no and low-cost treatment for the uninsured, giving special considerations to rural Florida. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 11% of Floridians are uninsured. 

“We should not let the perfect get in the way of the good,” said St. Petersburg Democratic State Sen. Darryl Rouson. 

The 232-page proposal contains a slew of other provisions. It looks to divert non-emergency patients away from ERs and, alternatively, directs them to clinics and urgent care establishments. Further, it urges medical workers to volunteer at need-based clinics, broadens need-based clinic eligibility and establishes a “Health Care Innovation Council” to search for new medical strategies. 

The push to bolster Florida’s medical ranks, meanwhile, comes as the state experiences notable growth. Speaking to reporters, Passidomo in December estimated more than 1,000 people are moving to Florida a day. To accommodate growth, the plan also reduces barriers for foreign-trained doctors, among others, to practice in Florida.

“In Florida today, we do not have enough health care personnel to take care of the Floridians that are living here,” Passidomo said.