The federal government has approved Florida’s application for a waiver to expand KidCare, the state’s health insurance program for children. But that approval comes after a yearlong delay – and the wait for coverage might not be over yet.
Back in 2023, the Florida Legislature voted unanimously to expand KidCare, making more kids eligible for the program. Then, a few months later, the DeSantis Administration filed a lawsuit over a federal rule put in place during the pandemic. It requires the state to provide eligible children with a full year of continuous coverage.
Lynn Hearn is the director of advocacy at the Florida Health Justice Project. She says the state’s lawsuit caused a crucial delay just as Florida began reviewing Medicaid eligibility after the pandemic. More than half a million children were disenrolled – and they couldn’t get on KidCare due to the waiver dispute.
“It’s truly heartbreaking," she said. "Expansion was due to be implemented at a critical time – the exact same time that coverage was due to be ending for not just all children and healthy children within this income bracket, but also the most medically complex children.”
Hearn says the most fragile children often weren’t covered.
“The plan was for especially these medically complex children to be able to transition to the expanded KidCare program," she said, "so they would be able to receive the specialized care that they need through the Children’s Medical Services plan – but that didn’t happen.”
It’s unclear what will happen next. The state now has the go-ahead to expand KidCare, but with the stipulation that it provides 12 months of continuous coverage. Florida requires KidCare participants to pay a premium, but the federal rule says that coverage can’t be discontinued even if a family misses a payment. The DeSantis Administration’s lawsuit was dismissed, but it has filed an appeal.
