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Census: Florida Ranks Second In Fewest Residents With Health Insurance

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida had the nation’s second-highest rate of residents without health insurance with almost 1 out of 4 Floridians lacking it, according to new U.S. Census figures released Thursday.

Only Texas surpassed Florida’s rate of 24.8 percent of residents under age 65 without health insurance in 2011, the most recent year figures are available, the Census said.

Although that figure was down slightly from 2010, when 25.3 percent of Floridians were without health insurance, the rate of uninsured residents has inched up since 2008, when just over 24 percent of Floridians were without health insurance.

The half-decade spike in uninsured residents comes as the Republican-controlled Legislature ruled earlier this year not to expand Medicaid coverage to an estimated 1.1 million low-income Floridians under the federal health law.

In an unusual alliance, Gov. Rick Scott, Senate Republicans, Democrats, Florida hospitals, health advocates and a diverse mix of business and labor groups all supported a bill that would have drawn down more than $50 billion from the federal government over the next decade and allow Floridians to purchase private insurance. But leaders in the GOP-led Florida House refused to consider that proposal, saying they didn’t want to take funds tied to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

Democrats and health advocates have since held town halls around the state pushing Scott to call a special session to discuss Medicaid expansion, but Scott has said he isn’t planning to call one since House leaders haven’t signaled a change of heart.

Florida’s large numbers of small businesses, which currently aren’t required to provide health insurance, as well as its tourism-oriented economy with large numbers of workers in service jobs have contributed to its historic high rate of the uninsured.

That will change under the Affordable Care Act, which requires business with 50 or more employees to offer coverage. But the Obama administration recently announced it would delay that provision for another year. The law also requires individuals to carry health coverage starting in 2014 or face a roughly $100 fine.

Individuals can still go online and shop for insurance on the new state exchange starting Oct 1. The new marketplaces will have the feel of an online travel site where residents can compare different private insurance plans. Consumers will be able to choose from plans that offer a range of premiums, deductibles and co-pays depending on variables such as how many doctors that a person wants included in his or her network. Residents making less than $48,000 a year will receive a federal voucher to help offset premium costs.

Anyone making below the poverty line, $11,490 for an individual or $23,550 for a family of four, won’t be eligible for subsidies through the online marketplace.

Counties in south Florida with large numbers of farmworkers and immigrants led the state in uninsured residents. At the top of the list were Hendry County (35 percent); Miami-Dade County (34.4 percent); and Glades County (32.9 percent).

Three counties in northeast Florida had the lowest rate of uninsured residents: St. Johns County (15.4 percent); Clay County (17 percent); and Baker County (17.9 percent).

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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