A new coalition combining local business and health care groups is pushing a plan to insure more than a million Floridians who currently fall in the so-called Medicaid coverage gap.
More than a million Floridians make too much money to qualify for Medicaid under the state’s current income limits, but too little to qualify for insurance subsidies in the federally-run insurance exchange. The Florida legislature has twice rejected plans to expand Medicaid to those people.
Under a proposal backed by the Florida Hospital Association and Associated Industries of Florida, people in the Medicaid coverage gap could get private insurance funded with federal dollars under the Affordable Care Act. But those people would use a state-run insurance exchange, or marketplace, to choose insurance carriers. The plan also requires people who could benefit from it to be involved in job searches and training or educational programs.
The proposal is similar to one originally crafted in 2013 by the Florida Senate. Part of the plan requires state and federal approval and so far, the Florida House has opposed nearly everything dealing with the Affordable Care Act.
