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Approximately 28% of Florida adults can’t afford to see a doctor when they need to, according to newly published data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The data for 2022, the latest available, put Florida among the states with the highest rates of people who skipped medical visits because of high costs. Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi — other states that haven’t expanded Medicaid — were also listed, according CDC Disability and Health Data System data published Tuesday.
The Florida figure is down from recent years, when more than 33% of Floridians surveyed couldn’t go to the doctor. Similarly, the rate of uninsured Floridians has decreased. Nearly 85% of adults said they had insurance through an employer or the state. In 2018, 75.9% of people had health care coverage.
Although the rate of uninsured folks in Florida is not as high as in neighboring states, it is still one of the highest in the nation, according to the CDC data.
Lawmakers have devoted more attention to the issue this year since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency led to nearly 2 million Floridians being kicked off Medicaid, according to KFF.
Although Democrats in the state Legislature attempted to revive the discussion about expanding Medicaid, Republican leaders quickly shut the idea down in favor of investing $1.5 billion in efforts to increase the number of doctors and nurses in the state.
But Florida Decides Healthcare, a new political entity, is trying to get Medicaid expansion on the 2026 ballot.
–Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
JimboXYZ says
Hmmmm, wonder how this could possibly happen with ACA & Bidencare. And all this time we were led to believe that healthcare got more affordable under Biden-Harris ? Healthcare has been unaffordable since ACA under Obama-Biden.
Dennis C Rathsam says
This is one of the saddest articals Ive read! This is a disaster! Biden,s illegal invaders, recieve phones, debt cards, housing & free health care, while Americans do without.How does President Biden sleep at night? What kind of a man would allow this to happen, to the greatest country on earth? Our own people, born in America, tax payers, are too poor to go to the doctor, yet rapests & murderers that killed our young American girls, have medical care thanks to Joe Biden. Its time for a change, this has to stop! How can a sitting president, put invaderers, before Americans? Welcome to the bananna republic called the United States!
dave says
The author really needs to look at the UK and its health care system that is in crisis. And regarding can’t afford care, ” In the US, there is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires all emergency patients be treated at the facility they show up to. This means that anyone who goes to an ER must be seen and evaluated by a physician, regardless of their ability to pay for services. ”
The NHS in the UK ( which is always talked about and a “model the US should use for medical care”) is under extreme strain and many people are going without the care they need. In July 2023, the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England had grown to nearly 7.7 million – an all-time high – with almost 390,000 people waiting more than a year. Nov 3, 2023 The Health Foundation. ( health.org.uk)
And it’s getting worst.
The British Med Assoc ” Around 3.11 million of these patients have been waiting over 18 weeks; Almost 307,500 of these patients have been waiting over a year for treatment – a slight decrease from around 302,600 the previous month (April 2024)
The total number of patients waiting over 12 hours for an emergency admission increased slightly from about 42,100 in April to approximately 42,600 in May 2024.
Medical care isn’t that perfect anywhere in the world these days.