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KidCare enrollment hits all-time high

More than two million Florida children are now enrolled in the state’s health insurance program for low income kids. Regan McCarthy reports the organization hit a record number of participants in March.

Florida Healthy Kids Executive Director Rich Robleto says the increased number of kids getting enrolled in the state’s Kidcare program is a good thing.

“There are two million, 800-thousand children who, without Kidcare, wouldn’t have access to the healthcare that they need, they wouldn’t be getting vaccines, they wouldn’t have access to dentists they wouldn’t have access to.”

Robleto says the uptick in participants could be attributed to the sluggish economy that has left some parents with no alternative insurance program for their kids. Participation in the KidCare program is based on a parent’s income. Also, lawmakers recently passed a law that would make the program available for state employee’s children starting in July. Robleto says about 27-hundred more kids are expected enroll because of that change.

 

 

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Regan McCarthy covers healthcare and government in Tallahassee, Florida. She is the Assistant News Director for WFSU Public Media.

Phone: (850) 645-6090 | rmccarthy@fsu.edu

Find complete bio, contact info, and more stories here.