State legislators sound alarm on Floridians losing Medicaid coverage

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By merznatalia via iStock for WMNF News.

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Half of Floridians losing Medicaid coverage are 20 years or younger, and Democratic state legislators are calling for more to be done to prevent loss of coverage.

An analysis by House Democrats shows that, of the over 524,000 Floridians who have lost coverage in the last four months, nearly 50% are individuals aged 20 or younger.

House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell blamed the DeSantis administration at a press conference in September.

“Florida can and should be doing more to prevent eligible Floridians from being dis-enrolled from Medicaid, but there’s been an absolutely unacceptable absence of leadership from the DeSantis administration.  I guess children from low-income families in Florida don’t poll well in the GOP primary with voters in Iowa and New Hampshire”

The Democrats are asking the state to expand the Department of Children and Families customer call center capacity, provide additional training to DCF staff, and increase the number of automated eligibility renewals.

The Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee will hear presentations on October 11th  from AHCA, the Department of Children & Families, and the Florida Healthy Kids Corp. about redeterminations, according to a calendar published Monday.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Times reports Florida terminated medical coverage for almost 63 thousand residents during the pandemic, according to a new federal audit.

 

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