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Florida Insurance and Health News
Employer health insurance is the most common type of health insurance in Florida, covering 47% of the population. Medicaid covers 10% of the population and Medicare covers 16%. Twenty-one percent of people in Florida have no health insurance, slightly higher than the national average of 16%.
Florida’s high risk pool insurance, the Florida Comprehensive Health Association, has not been open to new enrollees since 1991.
Minors, pregnant women, and disabled persons who meet strict income guidelines may qualify for Medicaid.
Uninsured minors who do not meet the stringent income guidelines for Medicaid may qualify for Florida KidCare, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. This program was frozen for awhile in 2003 and 2004 but is now accepting new enrollees. Florida has the second highest rate of uninsured children in the United States.
Recent Florida Health Legislation
According to the Miami Herald, Gov. Charlie Crist and the state insurance industry are working on a proposal that would allow adult children to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 25-30, even if the young adults are no longer in school. Crist would also like to see income guidelines eliminated from the KidCare program.
Health Care Issues in Florida
Florida scores well in the number of children who have received all recommended vaccinations. Florida also has a low rate of prostate and colorectal cancer deaths, and compared to other states, fewer women with breast cancer are diagnosed after the cancer has reached an advanced stage.
An area in Florida’s healthcare system that has potential for improvement and growth, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the treatment of pneumonia. Compared to other states, relatively few pneumonia patients received antibiotics promptly, and health care providers were less likely to take appropriate blood cultures. Florida Medicare recipients were also less likely to be satisfied with care they received.
