House passes KidCare expansion

The Florida House last week unanimously passed a bill that would expand eligibility for the KidCare subsidized health-insurance program. Sponsor Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, said the bill (HB 121) would provide "relief " to working families. "This is the best thing we can do for working families in Florida right now," Bartleman said.

The Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee approved its version of the bill (SB 246) last week, filed by Sen. Alexis Calatayud, R-Miami. Under KidCare, families who do not qualify for Medicaid can pay $15 or $20 a month in premiums to insure children. Subsidized coverage is available to families with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $60,000 for a family of four, according to a House staff analysis.

The bills would increase that threshold to 300% of the federal poverty level. The proposed expansion comes as many families will be dropped in the coming months from Medicaid because of the end of a "public health emergency" that the federal government declared in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began. As part of the emergency, Washington agreed to pick up more of the tab for Medicaid, which is jointly funded by states and the federal government. In exchange for the extra money, states had to agree that they wouldn't drop people from the Medicaid rolls during the emergency. The KidCare program also receives federal funding as part of what is known as the Children's Health Insurance Program. ¦