KFF Health NewsJun 20 2024
Republican-led legislatures in Florida and Arizona worked across party lines in 2023 to pass bills to expand their states' Children's Health Insurance Program — widely known as CHIP — which covers anyone younger than 19 in families earning too much to be eligible for Medicaid. A judge dismissed Florida's lawsuit on May 31, saying the state could appeal to federal regulators. The state's CHIP expansion now awaits federal regulatory approval before newly eligible children can be enrolled.
Florida officials have flouted federal regulations and removed at least 22,000 children from CHIP for unpaid premiums since the rule banning such disenrollments took effect on Jan. 1, according to public records obtained by the Florida Health Justice Project, a nonprofit advocacy group. Leaving James uninsured is not an option, Dent said. He is severely disabled due to a rare genetic disorder, Pallister-Killian syndrome, and requires round-the-clock nursing.
He noted that the federal government pays 70% of Florida's program costs and 75% of Arizona's — after deducting all premiums collected.