Florida continues to cruelly strip health coverage from thousands of children from lower-income households in defiance of a new federal law meant to protect them.
Since January 1, more than 22,500 children have opted out of Florida KidCare, its version of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip) that is jointly subsidized by states and the US government for families with income just above the Medicaid threshold.
Florida health officials admit that at least some were removed for failure to pay premiums, an action prohibited by the continuing eligibility clause of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 that went into effect earlier this year. The clause guarantees 12 months of coverage if at least one premium payment is made.
Last week, the administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis challenged the rule in federal court in Tampa, arguing that it makes Chip an entitlement program that illegally overrides a state law requiring monthly premium payments.
But he has chosen not to wait for a ruling to continue separating children from coverage. Figures from the Florida Health Justice Project show there were 5,552 withdrawals in the month through April 1, following 5,097 in March, 5,147 in February and 6,780 in January.
Florida argues that the numbers include children who age or move to other coverage, and that attrition has been consistent at this level for years. It should be noted that the monthly average so far this year is more than 1,500 more than the total for 2023.
It is extremely cruel and a crisis of callousness on the part of our governor and the state of Florida that they are willing to sacrifice sick children for their political goals, said Democratic US Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who said she had been contacted by several families disconnected from KidCare or disconnected. of Medicaid as the Covid-19 protections expired.
It’s an important reform for parents because once you qualify, you can stay for a year, your child will get the care they need, constant visits to the doctor’s office, and if they have a complex condition, they know it will be treated.
In the end, it saves everyone money and heartache for families when young children can stay healthy and well. But Ron DeSantis loves a lawsuit. Florida is the only state in the country so upset that children will receive health care that it is suing in federal court.
Castor said one family he’s spoken to has a two-and-a-half-year-old boy who was born three months early.
It is fed exclusively through a tube. She has extreme developmental delays and requires 24-hour nursing care, he said.
They said since birth he has faced challenges including five months in neonatal intensive care, hernia surgery, air tube surgeries and ongoing seizures and treatment. So the state has now ended its coverage. It’s heartbreaking, cruel and unnecessary.
Independent experts also question the purge.
While Florida is not alone in quickly disenrolling children from Medicaid during the relaxation process, many of those likely to remain eligible families should know that Florida is singling out an apparent violation of federal law in expel Chip’s kids, too, Joan Alker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Children and Families and a research professor at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy, said in an analysis published last week .
Florida is one of only nine states that charges premiums to children below 150% of the poverty line. Seven states have reduced all Chip premiums at any income level in recognition of the barriers they pose to low- and moderate-income families.
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With litigation, [Floridas] efforts to prevent children from retaining affordable health coverage do not stop at their borders. Depending on how it’s framed, a ruling in Florida’s favor could give all states the green light to rescind children’s coverage from Chip if their parents don’t pay a premium.
The Florida Department of Health Administration did not return a request for comment. In a statement released on April 19, the agency called previous media coverage of the issue misleading, but did not dispute the accuracy of the discharge numbers.
Allowing waivers for non-payment of premiums is crucial to maintaining the integrity and long-term sustainability of the program and helps Florida continue to maintain its high level of quality of service for KidCare participants, he said.
The agency also noted that in 2023, DeSantis signed legislation raising income eligibility to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. They claim the legislation, which has yet to be enacted, would open Chip to 68,000 more children. Overall, the agency said 182,000 Florida children are covered by KidCare, a 66 percent increase from May 2023.
Castor, however, says the illegal abandonment of enrolled children and other recent developments, such as Florida’s six-week abortion ban that takes effect Wednesday, show the state is more determined to restrict health care than to expand it.
Hypocrisy abounds, he said. On women’s ability to control when they have children, and if they have children, the state of Florida and Ron DeSantis say: You have to have children, you have to have them.
Then, if you have a child, it says, OK, you’re on your own, even in the face of a new federal law. All the research shows that if kids get the attention they need, especially in their early years, they’ll be more successful in school, have higher reading scores, higher graduation rates, be more productive in life.
This is a self-inflicted wound to the ability to have a healthy and functional state of Florida.
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