2025 Medicare enrollment
More than 1 out of every 10 Floridians are on traditional Medicare. That’s the federal health program for people who are 65 or older or people who have a qualifying disability.
Medicare's open enrollment period ends Dec. 7. During that period, beneficiaries can review and make changes to their plans for 2025.
For more information on the biggest changes to Medicare next year, we spoke with the director of the federal Center for Medicare. We heard from a counselor who specializes in helping beneficiaries navigate enrollment.
Guests:
- Dr. Meena Seshamani, director of the Center for Medicare within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- Jim Tolbert, Medicare counselor for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs' SHINE program, short for Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Elders.
Sunshine State politics go to Washington
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped at least a half-dozen Florida folks to serve in his second administration. His nominations so far include U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as secretary of state, former state attorney general Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general and Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser.
With so many Florida figures in the White House, how might policy and politics in the Sunshine State influence national lawmaking?
Guest:
- Kimberly Leonard, politics reporter and author of Florida Playbook for Politico.
PolitiFact checks claims
This week, we checked the accuracy of two claims with our partner PolitiFact: Can President-elect Trump enact tariffs without Congress? And does the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary have the power to enact a ban on vaccines?
Guest:
- Samantha Putterman, Florida government reporter at PolitiFact.
Weekly news briefing
There will be no special legislative session to tweak the condo reforms put in place after the Surfside tragedy. That means the deadline of Dec. 31 remains for many Florida condominium associations to complete a milestone inspection.
Two state senators from both sides of the aisle hosted a summit this week to address the rising costs associated with these reforms, as WLRN’s Carlton Gillespie reports.
There’s mixed news this week for homeowners in Lee County. The Federal Emergency Management Agency determined that unincorporated Lee County residents with policies issued under the National Flood Insurance Program will keep the 25% discount.
But for homeowners in Fort Myers Beach, the news from FEMA is not good. The agency put the city on probation from the flood insurance program. We turned to WGCU’s Sandra Viktorova for more information.
Plus, the Everglades National Park turns 77 this week.