Florida House Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Speaks on Key Focus Areas for the 2023-24 Legislative Session – State of the Repair

Florida Representative Randy Fine (R-Brevard) has been named chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee. Fine, a Harvard graduate and former gambling industry veteran, will spend the next two years reviewing legislation related to health care and human services.

While Fine said he has neither a great legislative background nor a background in health care, the Speaker asked him to take over as committee chair, he said.

“He wanted someone with a fresh set of eyes who wasn’t locked into any part of the industry to look at it, and I said I would,” Fine told State of the Fix.

Looking into the 2023-24 legislative session, which will begin March 7, Fine hopes to lower the rates for all private and state insurance programs. Its goal is to keep costs low for taxpayers and individuals while maintaining and improving access to care to promote positive outcomes.

“In the case of government-provided insurance, I’d like us to do as little of that as possible, because basically I don’t think it’s the government’s role to take someone’s money to force them to give it to someone else,” Fine told Reform State.

However, Fine said he would make an exception for special needs cases, such as children who have higher needs through no fault of their own. According to Levin, many individuals in government health care programs are not disabled, or are not in a circumstance to receive government funding.

“I think we really need to focus on making sure that our government resources go to the population that really needs them,” Fine told the State of the Repair website.

With the historic Roe v. Wade case reversed in June of 2022, and then the state of Florida Advocates urged Congress to expand abortion coverage though The majority of state MPs dissented Therefore, Fine remains committed to his personal belief in being pro-life.

“I am pro-life, and if a bill comes through my committee that protects the reproductive rights of children at birth, I will definitely support them,” Fine told the State of Reform website.

Fine mentioned how he would not be bound by any particular bill, but rather viewed the legislation as it was and approved it through committee.

Targeted anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-transgender laws are taking effect across the country, such as in Florida House Bell 1557HB 1557 prohibits the use of LGBTQ+ safe spaces in schools, and prohibits teachers from speaking out about community issues. meme, and lead to further stigma and isolation.

For the 2023-24 legislative session, Fine hopes that momentum will continue, specifically in regards to gender affirmation sponsorship.

“I think we have to emphasize that boys are both boys and girls,” Fine told State of Reform.

Fine believes the commission will work through a large portion of gender affirmation legislation this year, “to make people understand that in Florida, we believe in science and that we will not allow parents to mutilate and abuse their children on the altar of alien ideology,” Fine told Reform State.

Fine’s focus regarding gender affirmation care will be on children, as he believes adults should be able to make their own choices as long as those choices do not negatively affect others.

“Children, we have an obligation to protect from the mutilation and abuse being pushed by the awakened left,” Fine told State of Reform, which said children do not have the right to make these choices about their own bodies.

The Pew Research Center published a survey titled Americans’ Complex Views of Gender Identity and Transgender Issues In June of 2022, they found that 60% of respondents believed that a person’s gender was determined by the sex given at birth. According to the survey, Americans who say a person’s gender can be different from the gender assigned at birth are more likely to see discrimination against transgender people, and a lack of societal acceptance.

Additionally, 66% of Republicans surveyed said society has gone too far in accepting transgender people. The survey also found that 46% of respondents support making it illegal to provide medical care for gender transition to those 18 or younger.

About 46% of those who say sex is determined by sex at birth also cite what they have learned from science, but this group is much more likely than those who say a person’s sex can be different from their sex at birth. The survey stated that their religious beliefs were It has at least a fair amount of influence over their opinions (41% vs. 9%).

For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the largest professional association for pediatricians in the United States, has spoken out repeatedly about the harm anti-conversion legislation is doing to young people. In March of 2021, I went AAP in the opposition register Public policies that do not support affirmative care for transgender youth.

“Several state legislatures have introduced bills that prohibit gender affirmation sponsorship for diverse and transgender youth and bar transgender youth from participating in sports teams according to their gender identity,” said Dr. Lee Savio Beers, president of the league, in a statement. “These laws are dangerous,” the statement said. “If left unchallenged, there will be transgender teens in certain zip codes who will not be able to access basic medical care, and pediatricians in some zip codes who will be criminalized for providing medical care.”

a abbreviated Published in March of 2022 by the Williams Institute School of Law at UCLA, “Ban Medicare of Gender Affirmation for Youth,” highlights the risks that come with denying appropriate care to trans youth.

The brief states that gender confirmation care, including the use of hormones to delay puberty and promote the development of sexual characteristics consistent with a child’s gender identity, is recommended for transgender youth by the AAP and the Endocrine Society. The brief also states that the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) view gender affirming care for young adults as evidence-based care for patients.

Research shows that gender affirming care improves the mental health and general well-being of transgender people, including young adults. Study 2020 Posted in Pediatrics found that access to puberty suppression treatment was associated with lower odds of lifelong suicidal ideation among transgender adults,” the brief stated.

According to the brief, research also indicates that efforts to support young people in their gender identities are associated with better psychological health and feelings of safety at school.

“I look forward to spending the next two years working on this [priorities]. I tried to be a transfer chair in my previous assignment, I think I left a good mark in both higher education and K-12 education, I hope to do the same here [as chair of the Health & Human Services Committee]”Fine for the state of repair.