Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a trio of health care bills into law at an event in Miami Tuesday.
DeSantis signed the bills at Nicklaus Children's Hospital alongside his wife, Casey DeSantis, the state surgeon general, and Jack Nicklaus and his wife Barbara.
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One of the bills, SB 1582, creates a pediatric rare disease grant program and revises screening requirements for infants.
“Through all these changes, we will expand research efforts and cut bureaucratic red tape, giving families a better shot at quickly identifying and fighting pediatric disease," DeSantis said.
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Another, SB 7072, provides significant funding for cancer research and creates a council within the Department of Health to advise on the awarding of the grants. First lady Casey DeSantis, a cancer survivor, was very involved in the legislative effort.
"We need to have a better approach to how we are looking at the data across the state of Florida," she said. "Occurrence rates for cancer.. that's huge because if we are seeing something in one part of the state, we need to know now if there is something that’s environmental. We need to be on top of that."
The third, HB 885, mandates Medicaid coverage for biomarker testing, a lab method that uses samples to check for certain genes that may be a sign of a disease or condition.
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“There are unnecessary barriers to be able to provide opportunities and hope to people in Florida," Casey DeSantis said. "Cut through the red tape and get there.”
