Health care law encompasses the laws and regulations governing hospital and health care administration, and an understanding of health care insurance is integral to it. There are significant differences in the types and amount of coverage provided by various private insurance policies, such as HMOs, PPOs, disability insurance, and hospital indemnity insurance, just as there are important differences in the cost to the purchasers of health insurance. There are also public health care insurance programs. Elderly and disabled persons may be eligible for coverage through the federal Medicare program. The joint state-federal Medicaid program helps certain individuals, including disabled persons and low-income elderly persons, pay for long-term care and in-home health care.
Wauchula is a city located in Hardee County, Florida, United States, and had a population of 4,368 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 4,441. It is the county seat of Hardee County. Wauchula has been called the "Cucumber Capital of the World", although citrus has become a more important agricultural crop over the past few decades. It is home to the Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation, a residential therapy facility for people who have suffered debilitating brain trauma. In 1978, Wauchula was the location of the "Baby Swap", which took place at Hardee Memorial Hospital, where the babies Arlena Twigg and Kimberly Mays were switched and sent home with the wrong parents. (This event was documented in the book The Baby Swap Conspiracy by Loretta Schwartz-Nobel, and in the 1991 made-for-TV movie Switched at Birth). Barbara Coker Mays, the natural mother of Arlena Twigg, who died from a congenital heart defect on August 23 1988, was a member of one of Hardee county's prominent families, the Cokers. Bryant Coker was involved in the building and financing of the hospital, and had a commemorative plaque at Hardee Memorial; H L Coker was on the board of trustees. Hardee Memorial, a modern, beige two-storey building, served the area until July 1992, when it declared bankruptcy due to the legal battle over the baby swap case and closed its doors, according to Schwartz-Nobel. It is now served by the Florida Hospital.