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Report: Many Florida children still have no health insurance

 
Published Nov. 8, 2014

A new report shows Florida had the highest percentage of uninsured children in the Southeast last year, and one reason is that so many of their parents don't have coverage, advocates say.

In Florida, 11.1 percent of children were uninsured in 2013, according to the report from Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families. That's about 445,000 children.

Florida fared fifth worst in the nation, behind Nevada, Texas, Arizona and Alaska.

Advocates say Florida's refusal to expand Medicaid coverage to more poor adults increases the problem because parents without insurance are less likely to get it for their children — even though assistance is available.

Adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — $15,865 for an individual, $32,499 for a family of four, in 2013 — can get Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, but only in states that accept additional federal aid. The federal government has said it would fund nearly all of those costs, roughly $51 billion over a decade.

But Florida politicians have said no, citing concerns about future costs, or criticisms of the Medicaid program. Though Gov. Rick Scott, who was re-elected on Tuesday, has expressed support for expansion, he has not pushed the issue. He can't do it on his own, and conservative leaders in the Florida House adamantly oppose expansion.

Children in families with incomes between 100 and 200 percent of the poverty level had the highest uninsured rate in 2013, around 10.7 percent.

That comes as little surprise to advocates.

"Unfortunately, many Florida children live in homes with working parents who can't afford coverage for themselves," said Karen Woodall, executive director of the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, in a statement. "Accepting the Medicaid option under the Affordable Care Act would help uninsured parents and children too. When parents don't have to worry about unpaid medical bills, the whole family is more financially secure and children's health needs are more likely to be met."

Georgetown researchers noted that the nation as a whole did not do well by its children last year. For the first time in recent history, the rate of uninsured children did not significantly decline from the prior year. The slowdown in progress comes at a particularly troubling time, the report said, as federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program is scheduled to expire next September.

"Whether or not Congress extends funding will likely have the greatest impact on the direction of children's coverage rates in the near future," the report says.

The report covers 2013, the year before the major provisions of the Affordable Care Act — including the requirement that most Americans buy coverage or risk a tax penalty — went into effect. It's unclear at this point how children's coverage will be affected by those changes.

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Contact Jodie Tillman at jtillman@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374. Follow @jtillmantimes.