Two Florida congressmen are teaming up to make sure an insurance program covering Florida children continues to provide healthcare for the needy.
On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio announced they would be taking a stand to protect children needing health insurance.
Bilirakis and Rubio penned a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, detailing how nearly 11,000 of Florida’s children would lose health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Florida’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the two say, needs help and regulatory assistance to fix what has become an “unintended consequence” of Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.
Florida CHIP’s Healthy Kids program offers families whose income levels disqualify them from Medicaid affordable health insurance for their children, but premiums have been on the rise in recent years, rising nearly 60 percent since 2015.
The surge in premiums has caused an enrollment drop from 30,000 to 11,000 children.
The program was one of the first in the nation to offer affordable health care for children who do not qualify for Medicaid and was one of the models for the national CHIP program in 1997.
Children ages 5 through 18 from families with incomes 200 percent below the poverty level qualify for the program, where they pay $15 or $20 a month for health insurance.
Florida also offers a slightly different option for health insurance, allowing a “full-pay” option which allows Florida parents to purchase plans without subsidies. This type of plan is only available in the Florida market.
Bilirakis and Rubio said they supported President Trump’s plan to lower healthcare costs and roll back “unnecessary regulatory barriers” which they said were driving up the cost of healthcare for all Americans.
“We appreciate any steps you take allowing Healthy Kids to bring affordable coverage within reach of Florida families,” they wrote.
Secretary Price has not yet responded to the letter.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate unveiled its version of the healthcare bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. The 142-page plan retracts many of Obama’s signature healthcare law provisions, dropping a requirement for individuals to have health insurance and eliminating taxes on the wealthy.
Republicans need 50 votes to pass the bill.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen
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