Good news for all: More Florida kids get health coverage | Editorial [Orlando Sentinel]

In a brief flash of bipartisan amity, more than 40,000 Florida children got one step closer to being eligible for affordable health insurance through Florida KidCare and Healthy Kids this week.

It’s not surprising that the move happened with little fanfare. HB 121 came up for final passage right after hours of emotionally grueling and righteously contentious debate over a proposed 6-week abortion ban and was rapidly (but happily) discussed before House members voted unanimously to send it to the Senate, where the path appears smooth for quick passage.

Even though it was quick, it was a moment of pure joy, with sponsors Robin Bartleman, D-Weston and Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, surrounded by Republican and Democratic lawmakers embracing each other and House Speaker Paul Renner, a steadfast champion of the expansion, taking well-deserved credit for pushing it through.

It’s also a reminder of the kind of good the Legislature can, and did, accomplish in the years when the needs of hardworking families took priority over ego and culture wars. We take particular pleasure in the role played by two Central Floridians who presided over the passage of the original Healthy Kids legislation: Former Senate President Toni Jennings and U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, who was speaker of the House when Florida KidCare became a statewide program. We hope both take pride in the sight of a new generation of Healthy Kids families gaining increased access.

Those families may not know the history of Healthy Kids or the names of people like the late Linda Merrell of Ormond Beach, the children’s health advocate whose brilliant smile hid a pitbull-like tenacity that won her the title “mother of Healthy Kids,” or Flagler Beach’s Deanna Schaeffer, who headed an early Volusia partnership that was a key model for Florida’s Healthy Kids legislation.. They may not even remember Gov. Lawton Chiles, who used every trick in his formidable toolbag to beg and bully for KidCare’s ultimate passage.

Today’s families will certainly feel the benefits, however, particularly those who are losing Medicaid coverage as COVID-era rules expire. In recent months, we’ve heard from many who were desperately searching for coverage — not for themselves but for their children. This will give them a small ray of hope, even though many realize that their families are still one bad illness or injury away from financial disaster. That’s due to Florida’s refusal to expand Medicaid coverage to give parents, as well as children, access to more heavily subsidized policies.

This is the first expansion of KidCare in 25 years, reports Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics. That’s a somewhat depressing benchmark, given that Healthy Kids — part of a suite of children’s health programs known collectively as Florida KidCare — gets its federal funding from legislation that was originally inspired by the groundbreaking public-private insurance plan first developed in the Sunshine State. The program targets kids in families who earn too much for Medicaid but can’t reasonably afford health insurance on their own, and it’s been popular for decades, even among families that don’t get any break on the cost of the coverage.

The legislation passed in the House will bump up the potential eligibility for subsidies from 215% of the federal poverty level (about $62,500 for a household of four) to 300% (around $90,000).

The expansion reflects harsh economic reality in Florida: With the cost of living exploding, people in jobs that were once considered solidly middle class, such as police officers and teachers, now need help to provide the essentials any family deserves.

That may explain why Healthy Kids — which covers school-age children —is often more popular with parents than Medicaid would be. It works by allowing parents to buy insurance from selected private companies. For families eligible for subsidies, the cost can be significantly lower than full-family health coverage through an employer.

Options vary by county, but once parents have made their choice, the insurance policies look and work like any other market-based coverage. Many Healthy Kids parents say they are grateful for the chance to take responsibility for their kids’ health insurance instead of having to depend on Medicaid, which many perceive as charity.

That’s why we wish Florida leaders would consider another pioneering move. If they won’t expand Medicaid, why not consider allowing parents to enroll themselves in a Healthy Kids-like program? Other states have experimented with this, but most model their programs in ways that look more like Medicaid. Florida could craft its own solution that allows hard-working adults to buy coverage they can afford, with the dignity and respect that their long hours of labor merit.

For now, however, more will gain the chance to take care of their own children’s needs. That’s worth celebrating — and we do.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@orlandosentinel.com

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