The percentage of Florida children without health insurance has plummeted during the pandemic, but the state remains one of the worst in the nation for health coverage for all of its children, according to a new study.
Among the hardest hit are Latinos and the poor.
Some 7.3% of children in Florida were uninsured in 2021, ranking the state in the bottom 10 nationally, according to new research from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Nationally, 5.4% of children are uninsured, according to the report.
The number of children who got coverage during the pandemic increased because the federal government expanded Medicaid, the study found. More than 500,000 Florida children had been enrolled in the program since 2020. The result is that almost as many Florida children – 40.5% – are covered by the federal program for low-income families in the country as those receiving care. employer-sponsored health care providers, which paid for medical care for 41.3% of children in the state in 2021.
The highest rates of uninsured children were among Latinos and in poor communities where nearly 9% remain without medical coverage. The rate among black children was 6.4%, more than a percentage point lower than the state average.
Many uninsured children likely live in households that would qualify for Medicaid or children’s health insurance programs like Florida Kid Care. The report estimates that nearly 10% of children eligible for these programs are absent due to lack of public awareness and administrative barriers.
Florida also has stricter income criteria than most states. It charges premiums for Florida Kid Care to families whose income is below 200% of the federal poverty level, or about $46,000 for a family of three.
Elizabeth Gutierrez, a Hispanic community leader and founder of the nonprofit Wimauma Enterprising Latinas, said many families who need services the most are not being properly informed of the resources available to their children, a- she declared. Others can’t walk into an office and talk to someone about the services because that information is mostly online.
“If you’re not English literate and computer savvy and navigating complex and all too often difficult application platforms, you probably won’t even bother,” Gutierrez said.
Katie Roders Turner, executive director of Family Healthcare Foundation, a Tampa nonprofit that helps families and individuals in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties find insurance, said they frequently find families with uninsured children who do not apply for public benefits because they are unaware that they might qualify.
“This is very common in families with mixed immigration status or who have recently obtained immigration status,” Turner said.
Previously in Florida, there was a five-year waiting period for children to sign up for coverage after receiving immigration status, Turner said. This changed in 2016. Now there is no longer a waiting period for children to access Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
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But Turner said barriers to coverage include delays in processing applications, confusing letters and communication from multiple state agencies.
She also mentioned the technical barriers of applying for benefits online, knowing how to use and navigate the system, and the fear of receiving public benefits to access healthcare services.
Isaret Jeffers, a community activist in Plant City and founder of Colectivo Arbol, a nonprofit that helps Florida farmworkers, said they always strive to fill the void to connect with people, by part through community meetings and partnerships with local groups and businesses.
Jeffers organizes community events and free vaccinations at least twice a year to reach low-income families and their children. Collaborators include Walgreens and Sun Shine Clinic, Jeffers said.
“We love doing this because we know that many children need direct, immediate attention to prevent illness, but their parents don’t have or understand the tools they need,” Jeffers said.
Bruce Lesley, president of advocacy group First Focus on Children, fears the rate of uninsured children will rise again when federal Medicaid emergency insurance funding ends next year.
Lesley is especially concerned that Hispanic and Black children, who are already experiencing higher rates of uninsured, “will bear the brunt of it,” he wrote in an email to the Tampa Bay Times. “Our research shows that more than half of the 7 million children at risk of losing Medicaid coverage will be Hispanic or Black, and these children could experience twice the coverage loss of their white peers.”