In a worrying trend, Medicaid coverage is on the decline for children in Florida. 7.6% of children under age 6 in the Sunshine State are uninsured, during years when their bodies are laying down the foundations of good health for the rest of their lives.
In 2023, Florida’s Legislature passed a law allowing families who earn within 300 percent of the federal poverty level to qualify for subsidized insurance. That's just over $66,000 per year for a family of four. More than three years later, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has yet to implement the law, claiming it’s been blocked by the federal government
The Florida Health Justice Project, a health-care advocacy group, is suing the state over the issue.
Melanie Williams is policy director at Florida Health Justice Project. She emphasizes that families can't afford to be without insurance.
"One of the number one issues I think in Florida that lawmakers on either side of the aisle talk about is affordability. And when it comes to healthcare and not having insurance or having it, but not being able to afford all the other things that come along with it, those things go hand in hand," Williams said.
Angela Shenberger's 8-year-old son, Keith, has complex medical needs that qualified them for Florida Kid Care, the state's insurance, until her husband began making too much money to qualify under the old regulations.
They switched to a plan that charged them $150 a day, Shenberger said, for a therapy called Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, that her son needs. The cost was out of their reach.
"My son has regressed because of going without ABA therapy for a year," Shenberger said.
The Jacksonville family qualifies again under the law passed in 2023. But the state's lack of implementation means that Keith hasn't been able to get that therapy.
"I'll sit here and cry because I see my son suffering. I've talked to a lot of parents who will cry. They're struggling. It needs to be fixed. We just can't keep waiting . We waited three years already. How many more years do we have to keep waiting?"
A judge will hear arguments on the lawsuit in late July.
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