Herald-Tribune
By: Editorial Herald Tribune
Approximately 366,000 children in Florida are currently without health-care insurance, and even though the percentage of uninsured children went from 11% to 9.3%, still 1/10 of the kids in Florida are still uninsured.
The University of South Florida will be receiving $1 million federal grant to find more eligible kids enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, and so, they will be working with various organizations to inform parents better about opportunities and benefits from getting healthcare coverage.
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A recent survey of pediatricians in Florida, conducted by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center for Children and Families, found that even primary-care doctors have trouble finding pediatric specialists who accept Medicaid. According to the survey — conducted in partnership with the Herald-Tribune and funded by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County — 59 percent of the 131 pediatricians who participated “frequently/always” had difficulty making referrals.
Another problem cited by the pediatricians surveyed is the number of patients whose coverage had been changed without prior notice. (Nearly all children covered by Medicaid in Florida are enrolled in plans managed by private-sector companies.) More than 68 percent of the respondents said they noticed an increase in the “number of patients who have been reassigned” to a different managed care company “without their knowledge.”
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