Tag Archives: florida

Southern Florida: A Mecca for Equal Pay for Women?


Posted on June 5, 2013 by

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Sarasota Skyline, found here.

Sarasota Skyline, found here.

A recent article came out from USA Today, ranking the 10 best-paying cities for women. April 9 was Equal Pay Day, marking the day where women – who make an average of $0.77 to every $1.00 a man makes – finally earn enough to keep pace with men.

However, in the article marking the 10 best-paying cities for women, there was an area that stood out – South Florida. As a native Floridian, I am happy to say:

  • Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater came in at #10, with women making (on average) 84.8% of what men make.
  • Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach came in at #9, with women making (on average) 85.4% of what men make.
  • And the Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port area came in at #3, with women making (on average) 87.5% of what men make.

There are many reasons why south Florida may be more equitable than most areas (I, personally, think that it has something to do with the large retiree population here), but it’s really interesting that half of the major metropolitan areas in the state of Florida rank in the top 10 for equal(ish) pay.

The pay gap is a serious issue, but it has some funny sides, too: my favorite finding from Equal Pay Day is this great video from Switzerland, where a bank and a women’s equality non-profit teamed up to show men what it’s like to get 80% of what you should.

Why do you think southern Florida ranks so high for equal pay for women?

Florida & Medicaid Expansion: The Latest News


Posted on April 3, 2013 by

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Found at the Texas Tribune.

Found at the Texas Tribune.

Have you heard of the Negron Plan? Well, it might be Florida’s way of expanding Medicaid and still getting the federal matching dollars (without really expanding Medicaid).

After Florida’s House of Representatives voted down the expansion of Medicaid, lawmakers then began looking for alternatives. The Negron Plan “[c]reates a new state-based health insurance program for the uninsured. Appears to comply with the federal health care law, making Florida eligible to receive associated funding,” according to this great article from the Miami Herald. It would also be targeted at those that general Medicaid expansion would also target: those making 138% or less of the national poverty level – approximately 1 million people in the state of Florida.

There’s another alternative popping up in Florida: the Bean Plan. (Both are named after the congressional members who introduced them.) The Bean plan would give people making 100% of the poverty line or below $10 a month to defray costs of purchasing state-subsidized health care. This would help around 600,000 people, but let’s be honest: it won’t help them much.

Another major difference between the two? The Negron Plan qualifies for matching federal dollars (all $55 billion of them); the Bean Plan does not. (For a great rundown, this Miami Herald article does a fantastic job of breaking the two down and comparing them.)

That’s the latest on Florida and Medicaid – you know we will be keeping you updated; it matters to us, it matters to Floridians, and it should matter to the legislature. We’ll see.

The State of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion in Florida


Posted on March 20, 2013 by

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florida_ref_2001The Feronia Project is a project of Planned Parenthood of Southwest & Central Florida, so today, I wanted to talk about what is most pressing for us: the state of the Affordable Care Act in Florida.

Florida is infamous for many things (I say as a proud Floridian) but one of the most recent ones was our Tea Party Republican governor, Rick Scott, coming out recently for the expansion of Medicaid. (The expansion of Medicaid is one of the most important decisions that a state will have to make when it comes to the ACA; it is a decision that came out of the Supreme Court decision last June.) Medicaid is a program for the poorest of the poor to get healthcare, but states decide who is poor enough to qualify for it. In Florida, by the way? You have to make less than $2,000 to qualify and that’s for a family with children. Single men absolutely cannot qualify for Medicaid at all.

100% of the cost of Medicaid expansion will be covered by the federal government for the first year, decreasing to 90% in ten years. And that’s all – the federal government will continue to cover 90% of the cost of expansion in perpetuity. Florida politicians have said recently, however, that they doubt the federal government is “good for it” – i.e., the federal government will pull their support when the next monetary crisis hits.

Regardless of how you feel about that pronouncement, it’s been what Florida politicians have been using to justify their opposition to expanding Medicaid. Will Weatherford, Florida’s current speaker of the house, has come out against Medicaid (while either ignoring or genuinely not knowing that the program assisted his family when his brother fought and unfortunately lost his battle with childhood cancer) and the House voted the Medicaid expansion down; the Florida Senate has all but done the same, saying that it’s rather useless to vote on it if the House doesn’t approve.

Whether or not it’s useless is debatable as the House and Senate’s decision leaves more than 1 million uninsured Floridians without access to affordable health care – 57% more Floridians would have health care coverage. I don’t know about you, but to me? That’s no small number.

We at Planned Parenthood of Southwest & Central Florida believe that we should take care of our Floridians – and save money while doing it. The expansion of Medicaid would do just that.

Do you support it? Follow Florida CHAIN on Facebook and let our legislators know – everyone deserves access to affordable, quality, and low-cost healthcare.

Vote No on Amendment 6: Florida’s families need your help


Posted on October 3, 2012 by

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Vote No on 6

I know, I know, we usually have brand new content every day. But Amendment 6 is so important for Florida’s families that we wanted to bring it to your attention again. We’ll be back tomorrow with a brand new sexual health topic! -e

In this bitterly fought election season, you may have not heard about the dangers of Amendment 6, a ballot initiative that Florida voters will see in November at the end of a very long ballot, perhaps as long as 5-10 pages.

Simply put, Amendment 6 is a flawed and poorly written initiative that could allow Tallahassee politicians to interfere with a woman’s personal health care decisions, decisions that should be made by a woman, her doctor, and her family. Women should be trusted and respected to protect their own health, but Amendment 6 makes no exceptions for a woman’s health. This flawed amendment could deny women access to insurance plans that cover care they count on and you know as I do that it is not for politicians to decide the best health insurance coverage for women.

Here is just one real story that demonstrates the impact of Amendment 6. Three years ago, Fran and her husband received the news no expectant mother wants to hear – that their genetic testing came back showing a severe fetal abnormality. Their genetic counselor told them there was no hope for the survival of the fetus and suggested they immediately end the pregnancy. Amendment 6 doesn’t take Fran’s situation into account at all. If passed, Amendment 6 would allow politicians to interfere in this personal medical decision best made by Fran, her doctor and her family and as a state employee, Fran would not be allowed to use her health insurance benefits when making this difficult decision.

There are women like Fran in every community and neighborhood throughout the state – some of them may be women you know. We have to ask why our lawmakers are so focused on placing these kinds of amendments on the ballot at a time when working families are struggling just to make ends meet.

It is why we must Vote No on Amendment 6.

Fun Friday: St. Pete Pride – Pride in Paradise


Posted on June 29, 2012 by

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Happy Friday! So, are you in or around St. Petersburg, Florida?

Will you be at St. Pete Pride tomorrow?

Hey, so will Planned Parenthood of Southwest & Central Florida! Meet us at ArtPOOL Gallery, 2030 Central Ave. or we’ll be walking around with clipboards, meeting fun and fabulous people. Hope to see you there – and here’s a little video to entice you to go!

Women’s Health Under Attack (Again)


Posted on February 1, 2012 by

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Last year the Florida Legislature, overwhelmingly dominated by conservative, anti-choice members, introduced 18 bills to inhibit women’s access to the health care of their choice. Five bills passed. Now, as the 2012 session gets underway, 10 more bills have already been brought forward. Last week, the Florida Legislature debated three anti-choice bills in committee (HB 277, HB 839 and HB 1327). Instead of focusing on improving women’s health, the Legislature is again attacking women’s rights – and endangering our health. 
 
It’s time for our elected officials to stop playing politics with women’s health.
 
The following bills were voted out of a legislative subcommittee last week – along party lines:

  • HB 277 is an omnibus anti-choice bill that would further limit access to reproductive health care by preventing new health centers from opening and by adding unnecessary government regulation of and restrictions to abortion care.
  • HB 839 is a “one size fits all” bill that would cause harm to women by banning abortions at 20 weeks with no exceptions for a pregnancy that is a result of rape or incest, or for a woman’s mental health or fetal abnormalities – even those that can go undiscovered early in a pregnancy.
  • HB 1327 would require a physician to sign an affidavit stating that she/he is not performing an abortion because of the potential race or sex of a fetus or because of the pregnant woman’s race. This bill is designed by abortion opponents to polarize the public at the expense of women. 

During a time when Floridians struggle to overcome economic hardships – and Florida women’s health is at risk because of insufficient access to affordable, quality health care – some elected officials are trying to score political points at women’s expense. This is unconscionable – enough is enough. Our state legislators were elected to create jobs for the jobless and bolster Florida’s faltering economy – not to promote government interference in the choices women and families make about their health care.
 
Tell your legislators that they need to focus on improving women’s health, not attacking women’s rights. To find your state representative, go here.

This Week In: Your Government, the Good, the Bad, and the Huh?


Posted on January 31, 2012 by

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Obama has denied requests from religious organizations hoping to withhold insurance coverage of contraception to their employees. Under the Affordable Health Care Act, birth control will be covered as preventive care (finally!), and some religiously-affiliated businesses argued that this violated their conscience. After Obama’s decision, although churches will be exempt from providing this coverage, employees of religious universities and hospitals will soon be able to get their birth control covered regardless of their employer’s beliefs. (Psst, church employees, Planned Parenthood still has affordable birth control if you need it!)

The Republican party had their debate in Florida Thursday night. You know, I tend to get a little lazy about following primaries because I often already have firm opinions about who I’m voting for, but I do think it’s important to know what the candidates are out there saying. When candidates speak, I try to remember that they aren’t necessarily saying what they believe, but what their advisors think voters want to hear, and that allows us a glimpse at the public’s fears and desires. This debate had the super-rich Romney and Gingrich defending their controversial financial investments while also asserting that being rich just means that you work hard, and arguments over health-care reform  where the focus of an attack on Romney’s Massachessets’ health care plan was that it too closely resembled Obama’s. There is a lot to unpack there, but I think my favorite part was Gingrich and Romney arguing over who is the most pro-immigrant; I was surprised to find that being too harsh on immigration was supposed to be a bad thing in the Republican party, although the old chestnut about immigrants stealing our jobs was trotted out, as usual. Did any of you watch the primary, and what did you think?

And, in your What-On-Earth news of the day, a Senator in Oklahoma has proposed a bill to ban the use of aborted human fetuses in products or food. Some questions immediately come to mind, such as: What? Why? Isn’t that…already illegal because of state infection control and biological material disposal regulations? (Yes, by the way). But it’s real. According to Senator Shortey who proposed the bill, its aim is actually to prevent use of stem cells in food products, which he states some companies have used to produce certain flavors. However, the actual language of the law states “no person or entity shall manufacture or knowingly sell food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development in any of the ingredients.” I’m not sure Senator Shortey is too clear on the concept of stem cell research and how it works, but I’m interested to see how the rest of the Oklahoma government responds to his proposal.

Happy Roe v. Wade Day!


Posted on January 24, 2012 by

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As you may know, January 22nd was the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that upheld women’s right to have an abortion based on her right to privacy in her medical decisions.  This decision legalized abortion in the United States, saving many women’s lives and granting them freedom over their reproductive choices.

An unmarried pregnant woman who sought abortion, a doctor who was at the time being prosecuted for performing abortions, and a married couple concerned about their future of pregnancy and contraception brought forth the class action suit in 1973.  Though it was determined that only the woman (Roe) and the doctor (Hallford) had standing to sue, after a month of debate it was decided that women could not be prohibited from having an abortion in her first trimester based on the right to privacy given by the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Thanks to this decision, most of us have grown up living in a country where abortion is legal. Most of us have never had to consider having an illegal abortion, or worry about a loved one getting sick or dying from an unsafe procedure.

It may seem, especially to younger people who have grown up with the right to have an abortion if they choose, that Roe v. Wade is a solid institution, safe and here to stay. But please, don’t take your medical privacy for granted.  Enemies of reproductive rights are working hard to chip away at them, proposing laws that allow the government to intervene between you and your doctors medical decisions.

Already in Florida we have a law mandating that women view and hear a description of their ultrasound before a pregnancy, a move meant to shame and intimidate a woman seeking a termination. Personhood laws, which would outright ban abortion in the state in which they pass, are being proposed nationwide. Again in Florida, Representative Charles Van Zant is introducing for the 3rd time his Florida for Life Act that would ban abortion except if the mother’s life is at risk, a devastating move for women and an outright challenge to Roe v Wade.

Get involved in the fight, stay aware of what your politicians are working on, and don’t assume that your ability to obtain an abortion (or even birth control!) will be around forever without help. For up to date information about what’s going on in your state and how to take action, please consider signing up at the Planned Parenthood Action Center, or look at other ways to get involved at Planned Parenthood.

Awake the State


Posted on January 4, 2012 by

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Planned Parenthood has joined the growing movement to “awake the state” – the state of Florida, that is. Gov. Rick Scott and his allies in the Legislature have launched an all-out assault on Florida’s middle class and on women’s access to health care. They have cut billions from our public schools, cost thousands of people their jobs, harmed the quality of health care for Floridians, and attempted to put tough restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health care.
 
Average Floridians are fed up with the Governor and those legislative leaders, who insist on balancing the budget on the backs of hard-working Floridians – and who introduce bill after bill to curtail women’s rights. Enough is enough!
 
That is why the Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates (which includes our affiliate, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida) has joined the Awake the State organization as a coalition partner, and it’s why we are urging all of our supporters to attend one of the many rallies that will take place around Florida on Tuesday, January 10th (that’s when the legislative session begins).  Please check out the Awake the State website for a rally near you, or go to the Awake the State Facebook page. We must join the struggle to inform our fellow Floridians of what’s really going on in Tallahassee!
 
It’s time to demand that our Governor and our state legislators end the war on women and on our middle class – and focus their energies on protecting and expanding our middle class by investing in our future.

Florida 2012: Previewing the Legislative Session


Posted on November 23, 2011 by

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This year, Florida’s Legislative session begins earlier than usual: it begins on January 10 instead of the first week in March.  This is because the Legislature must spend time figuring out the new district lines for Congressional and legislative districts (these lines are reconfigured every 10 years to reflect population changes).

But for Planned Parenthood and all of us that believe in women’s access to health care at affordable prices, it means we must start meeting with state representatives right now to urge them to stop the “war on women” that occurred in Tallahassee last year.  An unprecedented number of anti-choice bills were introduced in 2011.  In a time of incredible economic distress and job loss, why the legislators spent so much time to limit women’s access to health care is difficult to fathom.

So far, two anti-choice bills have been filed for the 2012 session and we are holding our breath to see what else they’ve got up their sleeves.

We hope that anyone wishing to help us advocate for women’s health will sign up at www.myplannedparenthood.org or join our e-mail list by using the contact box in the sidebar.

Stand up for and stand with Planned Parenthood today!