In the News
ICYMI: State REFUSES to Offer Relief to KidCare Recipients
From Johanna Cervone, FDP Spokesperson: “The health and safety of Florida’s children must come before anything else. It is unacceptable that state officials have not done more to offer relief to KidCare recipients who have lost their incomes or homes to Hurricane Irma. Rick Scott must immediately reverse this shameful decision by the Agency for Healthcare Administration and postpone collection of premiums for families in distress.”
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
By Mary Ellen Klas
October 5, 2017
Key Points:
- “Florida families whose children receive state subsidized health insurance under the KidCare program were told by state officials this week that they have until Oct. 31 to pay up or lose their coverage — because the state has chosen not to seek a waiver to provide them with more financial relief.”
- “’What is wrong with this picture? Concealed weapons holders receive financial assistance in early September while low-income families simply receive an extension of the deadline to pay premiums and they are told they need to pay two months of premiums at once,’ asked Karen Woodall, an advocate for low-income families at the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy.”
- “Woodall argued that the more than 160,000 families who pay about $20 a month per child to receive the state-subsided insurance are given less favorable treatment than people who lost their $55 concealed weapons permits in the hurricane.”
- “AHCA would not answer why it has not asked for permission to allow families that have lost their income or homes as a result of Irma to temporarily stop premium payments.”
Read the full article here.
See also: CNN: Pediatricians say Florida hurt sick kids to help big GOP donors, Miami Herald: Bitter pill: How Florida rations care for frail kids Miami Herald: Judge slaps Florida for purging sick kids from treatment program.
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