Florida has made progress recently in expanding the healthcare program options available to its citizens, at both the state and county levels. From approximately 60 percent of residents with adequate coverage at the turn of the 21st century, newer programs and rules have helped increase coverage by an additional 15 percent during the past 10 years. The state now offers a broad range of public and private insurance options.
Medicare & Medicaid
While known as a state that draws retirees, only about 18 percent of Floridians are over 65 and therefore entitled to Medicare, the largest government insurance program. This also means that over 3 million Floridians are eligible for supplemental Medicare insurance through private insurers, including Prescription Drug Programs. This supplemental coverage backs up basic Medicare Part A (Hospital) and Part B (Medical) coverage. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services currently lists over 70 private insurers offering scores of supplemental health and drug Medicare plans in Florida (see Reference), including from the Aetna Medicare HMO to the WellCare Signature prescription drug plan. All the Medicare plans available in Florida can be found at the department's main Medicare website. In addition, the state's Agency For Health Care Administration directs Medicaid coverage for 2.7 million residents.
Beyond Seniors: Private Coverage
Floridians who are looking for private health insurance have two primary choices: invidividual or group coverage. Scores of companies, again from Aetna to WellCare, offer policies in Florida to those 19 to 64 years of age. You can seek quotes without obligation from numerous websites. As elsewhere in the United States, a company employee plan is the primary route to coverage for Floridians. Plans through associations or national unions are often unattractive in Florida because they can require higher premiums. Alternatively, you may be obliged to look for individual coverage. In the U.S. healthcare system, individual coverage that does not share risk for the insurer, through a pool, is often the least satisfactory type. Rates are higher and coverage is often uneven. Consumers Report suggests about 70 percent of individual policyholders are dissatisfied with some aspect of their coverage.
Filling the Gaps
In recent years, Florida has made progress in closing the gap---reducing the proportion of state residents who can either not afford or who physically do not qualify for coverage. A handful of state and county programs address the needs of the 15 to 20 percent without coverage. The most basic are the county Public Health Districts. Most Florida counties have built their community health facilities into networks, providing various levels of health care to eligible county residents with incomes below the U.S. poverty line and very limited assets. Some counties, such as Palm Beach, have gone further, creating a subsidized health benefit plan--Vita Health--that provides limited coverage and some hospitalization. Also at the county level, a few medical societies have created their own, voluntary programs for those local residents who are uninsured. In Palm Beach County, Project Access offers some county residents free visits to specialist doctors for a period of 6 to12 months, providing basic, temporary coverage to over 500 county residents per year. Miami-Dade has an expanded version of this program. Any citizen of the county can have free care for vitually all services at Jackson Memorial, one of the city of Miami's main hospitals.
Florida KidCare
In the late 1990s, the state began to put together the Florida KidCare program .. This marked the state's first major health care effort. Through a mix of programs for children from birth to age 18, KidCare provides health insurance at little or no cost. All families are eligible. They pay a discounted premium as low as $19 per month, based on income. Children on Medicaid pay nothing. The program is uniquely designed to provide children from families at every income level with access to competent care. Services include all traditional health care as well as dental and prescription coverage. Currently over 1.5 million children are enrolled. As a result, nine of every 10 Florida children today have health coverage through private or public insurance. Families can apply for KidCare online by visiting FloridaKidCare.org. To request an application by mail or for additional information, call 1-888-540-KIDS.
Cover Florida Health Care
In 2008, the current state administration partnered with private insurers to create Cover Florida. This is the most extensive statewide effort to date to deliver affordable insurance coverage to the general population, including wellness and preventive care programs. It's available to millions of uninsured Floridians. Premiums are significantly subsidized by the state and its private partners. There are 27 plans. Cover Florida has income limits for applicants. It is also considered a limited benefit health plan, but it offers both catastrophic and noncoverage options as well as routine care.
Member Comments