HEALTH

Key HUF 2022 Legislative Priority

Close the access gap to affordable healthcare, with a focus on vulnerable low-income populations.

Currently, 1.1 million Floridians do not qualify for any healthcare coverage. Many families are priced out of healthcare options and are forced to rely on the hospital system’s emergency rooms, a costly option for both consumers and providers. Solutions must be found that would prove beneficial not just for immigrant families, but for all Floridians.

Recommendations:

  • Florida should expand Medicaid, as per the Affordable Care Act, to low-income adults under 138% of the Federal Poverty Line.
  • Incorporate Affordable Care Act consumer protections into state law, including protecting Floridians with pre-existing conditions from future price shocks.
  • Support the elimination of the five-year waiting period for pregnant women to access Medicaid via the Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act (ICHIA).
  • Support the elimination of the five-year residency in Florida rule for Legal Permanent Residents to access Medicaid.

Key HUF 2022 Legislative Priority

Remove barriers to KidCare (CHIP) enrollment.

An estimated 343,000 children are eligible but not enrolled.

Recommendations:

  • Increase income eligibility for KidCare premium subsidies so more families may have access to KidCare. Currently, families with income above 215% of the poverty level ($47,214 for a household of 3) are ineligible. Most states have a higher income eligibility limit with a median level of 255% of the poverty level ($55,998 for a three-person household).
  • Remove barriers to enrollment: Prohibit “lock out” of households from KidCare if a payment is missed.

Narrow the gap in WIC participation.

Only 51 percent of eligible Floridians participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. Boosting these numbers is a cost-effective means to help children thrive.

Recommendations:

  • Effective messaging to the public to dispel misconceptions and clarify requirements about WIC.
  • Modernize the enrollment process statewide to the maximum extent possible.
  • Make shopping with WIC less burdensome.
  • Support and encourage Florida to continue to work with WIC agencies and community-based organizations to ensure that remaining eligible Floridians can apply for WIC.

Reimburse community nonprofits and places of worship for benefit enrollment.

Closure of DCF offices across the state has shifted the state benefit workload to local nonprofits and places of worship and placed financial stress on them.

Recommendation:

  • Establish a certified community partners program that reimburses nonprofits and places of worship for staff time spent enrolling Floridians in DCF and Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) benefit programs.

Require Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) to report on Medicaid managed care quality performance measures disaggregated by race, ethnicity, primary language, sex, and disability.

Experts agree that the collection of this data is an essential first step for developing targeted strategies to eliminate disparities.