As a law enforcement officer, I spent my career protecting the public from various threats. Today, I feel compelled to address a growing danger many may not be aware of: the risks associated with compounded medicines.
While these drugs can serve important medical needs, they also pose significant dangers, including the potential for exposing the public to counterfeit medicines or counterfeit ingredients used to make compounded medicines.
Moreover, I heard that some in Congress want to allow Medicare to cover compounded medicines. Quite frankly, this is a terrible idea because it would exacerbate these risks, ultimately jeopardizing patient safety.
Compounded medicines are custom-made drugs prepared by compounding pharmacists to meet the specific needs of individual patients.
These medications are not FDA-approved, meaning they do not undergo the rigorous testing for safety, effectiveness, and quality that brand-name drugs do. While compounding can be beneficial for patients with unique needs like allergies, it also opens the door to significant risks to patient safety.
Due to the lack of oversight, poorly compounded medicines have resulted in severe adverse reactions and even death of patients. These non-FDA-approved drugs put patients at risk of contamination from unsanitary conditions, incorrect dosages, and substandard ingredients. Unfortunately, we saw this tragically play out in 2012 when a fungal meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated steroid injections from a compounding pharmacy caused more than 60 deaths and hundreds of illnesses.
And in 2019, patients suffered eye injuries from non-sterile compounded eye injections made in a Florida outsourcing facility.
The lack of regulation and oversight also creates opportunities for counterfeit medicines to enter the market. Counterfeit drugs, which can be harmful or deadly, may contain incorrect ingredients, improper dosages, or harmful substances. The FDA has issued numerous warnings about counterfeit and poorly compounded drugs, including those for popular medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide.
We have seen for years the toll counterfeit opioid pills made with fentanyl have had on our communities. Opening the door to more counterfeit drugs in our communities is not the answer.
I witnessed the devastating effects of counterfeit drugs throughout my years in law enforcement. During my tenure, I was involved in several investigations to seize counterfeit drugs manufactured in unsanitary conditions and distributed through illegal channels run by organized crime syndicates that are driven solely by profits with no regard for the public’s health and safety.
Patients who unknowingly received these counterfeit drugs experienced treatment failures, adverse reactions, or worsening medical conditions.
The proliferation of counterfeit drugs undermines trust in the healthcare system and puts countless lives at risk. Allowing Medicare to cover compounded medicines may seem like a way to increase access to treatments, but it would have unintended consequences.
By covering compounded drugs, Medicare would effectively endorse treatments that lack FDA approval and oversight, which could increase Florida seniors’ exposure to counterfeit, substandard or adulterated compounded drugs.
Furthermore, expanding Medicare coverage could strain the already limited resources of regulatory agencies like the FDA. With more compounded medicines on the market, the FDA would face greater challenges in monitoring and ensuring the safety of these drugs. This could result in more cases of contamination, incorrect dosages, and counterfeit medications slipping through the cracks.
Maintaining strict oversight of compounded medicines is crucial to protecting patient safety. Regulatory agencies must have the resources and authority to enforce high standards for compounding practices. Additionally, healthcare providers and patients should be educated about the risks associated with compounded drugs and encouraged to use FDA-approved drugs whenever possible.
While compounded medicines can serve important medical needs, they also pose significant threats we cannot ignore. Expanding Medicare coverage of compounded medicines would only exacerbate these dangers, putting patient safety at greater risk. As a retired law enforcement officer, I urge policymakers to prioritize patient safety and maintain strict oversight of compounded medicines. Our health and lives depend on it.
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Mark Baughman is a 35-year law enforcement veteran whose career in Florida included serving in the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Republicans in Congress want to return education to the states and jettison the U.S. Department of Education. But they still want to ensure students get ideological education.
Scott isn’t the only Florida Republican backing this legislation. U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar is carrying the House version.
The bill would give students nationwide a version of the anti-communist curriculum that Florida students enjoy. The measure would make sure students know that more than 100 million people have died at the hands of communist regimes, while 1.5 billion still live under them.
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation would be charged with developing the curriculum, which will contrast “freedom and patriotism” with “communism and totalitarianism.” The lessons, per the bill, would be “compatible with a variety of courses, including social studies, government, history, and economics classes.”
“For families across America, particularly many in Florida, America shines as a beacon of freedom and democracy, standing in stark contrast to the communist regimes that once stripped them of their basic freedoms and liberties. For decades, the left has worked to promote failed socialist and communist ideologies that go against the very values we and President Donald Trump are fighting so hard to protect,” Scott said.
Salazar’s bill passed the House last year, so odds are good it has a shot of doing so again, and so “will ensure future generations will remember the pain and suffering caused by the brutal communist ideology,” as she said last December.
Florida’s “History of Communism” law was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support last year.
Students in traditional public and charter K-12 schools are on track to receive instruction on the history of communism beginning in the 2026-27 academic year in what is billed as an age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate way.
I want to start by thanking each and every person who has reached out to me or my family — often both — to wish me a speedy recovery from my hip replacement surgery.
I am not exaggerating when I say that our social media channels have been overwhelmed with positive thoughts, well-wishes, and overall best intentions. The outpouring of love and support was instantly uplifting and continues to provide healing vibes. Thanks to your continued prayers and overall support, my leg already feels stronger, and the pain is quickly fading. I am confident that it is only a matter of time before I’ll be back to full strength.
I have a special surprise in store for our readers today. While this would normally be a regular edition of Sunburn, this surprise is too exciting to cede any space to the usual rundown.
I am excited to unveil our latest edition of INFLUENCE Magazine, featuring the 2025 class of Rising Stars in Florida Politics. These professionals are working in all corners of government, campaigns, advocacy and more, and they are the up-and-comers who will shape Florida’s future, even as they are already part of important teams shaping today’s Florida.
Also, in this edition, we have profiles from some of this year’s legislative freshmen, which serve as glimpses into their personal backgrounds, legislative priorities, and thoughts on the overall climate in Tallahassee.
Perhaps one of the most must-read profiles is of Jason Pizzo, a moderate Democrat who may be Democrats’ best hope of scoring a statewide win in 2026 despite a continued reddening of our state’s electorate.
There is a slew of other features, including ranking the top lobbying firms and interviews with leading names in the process, such as SteveCrisafulli.
A bill that would end all of Florida’s community redevelopment agencies (CRAs) within the next 20 years is advancing in the House, where even some who voted for the measure believe it’s too severe.
Members of the State Affairs Committee voted 17-8 for HB 991, which would ban the creation of new CRAs — special government entities meant to improve blighted areas by funding infrastructure, housing, and business development projects — on or after July 1.
Any existing CRA would have to be terminated by the end of fiscal 2045 or the termination date in the CRA’s charter, whichever is earliest. Existing CRAs couldn’t be extended.
The bill, as written, would also bar CRAs from initiating new projects or issuing debt after Oct. 1. Those with outstanding bonds would still be able to operate until the bonds mature, but with a closing deadline of no later than Oct. 1, 2045.
Cape Coral Republican Rep. Mike Giallombardo filed HB 991 after learning that some CRAs have misappropriated funds. He said their Boards, usually composed of City Council members or their local analogs, have used the money to fund pet projects like art festivals and give themselves raises.
Giallombardo said he had pictures on his phone proving breaches of fiduciary duty by CRA Board members. He declined repeated requests to specify whom he was talking about or where the malfeasance had occurred.
“These CRAs become pockets of, let’s just call it, slush funds for some of these local governments,” he said. “And some of these are 50 years old. They just continue to kick the ball down the road,” he said. “We’re in an opportunity right now, especially with the climate — you know, DOGE and accountability — (and) I think it’s important for us to take a look at these.”
Rep. Mike Giallombardo said eliminating CRAs will end the waste, fraud, and abuse, which he’s seen evidence that he declined to share with his colleagues on Thursday. Image via Florida House.
First authorized by the Legislature in 1969, CRAs are state-authorized but locally established to target and develop specific urban or rural areas affected by economic distress or underdevelopment. Their principal funding mechanism is tax increment financing (TIF), where taxable property values are “frozen” at the onset of the CRA’s creation. As property values increase over time alongside redevelopment and improvement projects, the additional property tax revenue generated feeds back into the CRA for reinvestment in future projects.
Many have been staggeringly successful. Rep. Griff Griffitts, a Panama City Beach Republican, spoke of one CRA created in his district in 2020. At the time, the taxable value of the area was $900,000. Today, he said, it’s $6 billion.
“I know the good that they can provide for communities,” he said, adding that “bad actors” still misuse agency dollars and comingle funds. He said one of the objectives of CRAs, to finance the development of affordable and workforce housing, can be supplemented or replaced by the state’s SHIP and SAIL programs that the lawmakers infused with funding through the Live Local Act.
Griffitts said HB 991 “is not perfect” and appeared to disagree with its central premise of killing CRAs outright within the next two decades. “But I think this is a really good start to put some guardrails around these CRAs.”
Griffitts voted for the bill, as did Melbourne Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield, who similarly expressed concern about wiping out CRAs altogether and recommended instead that tighter restrictions be placed on them.
It would hardly be the first time. In 2019, lawmakers passed more stringent oversight rules for CRAs through HB 9, which, among other things, imposed new audit disclosure requirements, mandated that CRA spending must have County Commission preapproval, and provided that the state could terminate inactive agencies.
Rep. Debbie Mayfield said her vote for HB 991 Tuesday came with a hope that it would be amended before passage to address the many concerns she heard from both sides of the dais. Image via Colin Hackley/Florida Politics.
Boynton Beach Democratic Rep. Joe Casello suggested that a more reasonable approach would be strengthening the standards HB 9 established “rather than eliminating a tool that has successfully driven local economic growth.”
Delray Beach Republican Rep. Mike Caruso agreed. He said some Board members may be acting improperly, but the benefit CRAs provide to “blighted areas that the free market failed to improve” is more than enough of a testament to their worth.
“I look at this bill as if we’re chopping down a tree when we should be just trimming a branch,” Caruso said.
Giallombardo noted that funds from a CRA would remain with its given city, which could directly take on revitalization projects. But several members of the Committee pointed out problems with that perspective.
Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, said the runway his bill provides CRAs with outstanding bonds may not be long enough, particularly for longer, multiphase projects. North Miami Democratic Rep. Dotie Joseph said HB 991 would compound the negative impacts of a proposal (SB 852) Gov. Ron DeSantissupports this year to study eliminating property taxes, which could hamper local services, including “defunding the police.”
Small businesses within CRAs pay lower rents, made possible by the frozen property values, and eliminating that arrangement could drive their overhead costs to untenable levels, Lake Worth Democratic Rep. Debra Tendrich said. The bill would also prevent some less well-to-do residents from being able to buy homes and imperil local transportation provisions that benefit seniors, she said.
Casello, Caruso, Eskamani, Joseph and Tendrich voted against HB 991. St. Pete Beach Republican Rep. Linda Chaney voted for it but said she still sees the benefit of CRAs.
“I also have experienced the use of CRAs maybe not in the best interest of the taxpayer in terms of need-to-have versus nice-to-have projects,” she said. “Having said that, I would like to talk to you about maybe some refinement to this so that the need-to-have projects are funded above the nice-to-have projects.”
Rep. Dotie Joseph repeatedly asked Giallombardo for specific examples of CRA malfeasance. He said he had them on his phone, but didn’t elaborate, Image via Colin Hackley/Florida Politics.
Rep. Ashley Gantt, a Miami Democrat, contended that HB 991 is too vague and looks to destroy rather than correct. She said she was troubled by Giallombardo’s reference to DOGE, President Donald Trump’s federal initiative through which unelected billionaire Elon Musk has taken a (somewhat figurative) chainsaw to federal agencies in the name of government efficiency.
“We see how many thousands of federal employees have been laid off and are hopeless. I don’t want that to happen in my community,” Gantt said. “We have the power and ability … to protect our citizens, to make sure that they know that they are seen. … Why can’t we be transformative in thinking of new ways to still be accomplished? We don’t want CRAs to exist in perpetuity, but we also don’t want to kill the hope in our community. And it’s not like we’re asking for unreasonable changes or clarification.”
Gantt, Joseph and Tampa Democratic Rep. Diane Hart, who is not a member of the State Affairs Committee but appeared at the meeting, each proffered amendments to HB 991. Hart’s would have deleted the ban on new CRAs after July 1. Gantt aimed to erase the bill’s prohibition on new CRA projects and debts after Oct. 1. Joseph’s would have replaced the bill’s language entirely with an allowance that any resident or business owner in a CRA could file a complaint about any violation of state CRA rules that the Department of Commerce would have to investigate.
The GOP-dominated panel rejected them all.
Americans for Prosperity signaled support for the HB 991. Mulberry Commissioner Neil Devine, 1000 Friends of Florida and representatives of Wakulla and the CRAs of North Miami, North Miami Beach and Opa-locka opposed the measure.
Lobbyist Ryan Matthews, representing the Florida Redevelopment Association, which includes all 213 CRAs in the state, said cities without CRAs wouldn’t be able to use TIF funding to multiply their investment dollars and significantly improve their ability to issue bonds for projects.
He said that Florida’s 213 CRAs aren’t averse to sunsetting, but some need more time.
“We have multi-hundred-million-dollar projects in the pipeline,” he said, adding that HB 991 passes with its prohibition on new projects intact, it “will prevent those projects from coming to fruition.”
David Cruz of the Florida League of Cities told the panel about a project underway in Southwest Florida. A developer wants to build 78 new affordable units. The company bought land, obtained entitlements, went through zoning, and secured funding. Groundbreaking is scheduled for December.
Giallombardo’s bill puts the project at risk, he said, because the developer’s previously guaranteed tax rebate through the local CRA wouldn’t be possible.
“That entire project is going to go up in smoke,” he said.
HB 991 advanced on a party-line vote, with only Caruso crossing the aisle to vote “no” with his Democratic colleagues. The bill will next go to the House State Affairs Committee, after which it has one more stop before a floor vote.
Its Senate twin (SB 1242) by Ocala Republican Sen. Stan McClain skidded by its first of three Committee stops Tuesday on a 4-3 vote. It’s next slated for a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.