child insurance

State revamps kids’ insurance

(NEWS JOURNAL ONLINE) - With more than 5,000 local children dropping out of the state’s health insurance program over the past six years, officials say new legislation will help more children get the care they need.Legislators and child advocates worked the past several years to make changes to KidCare, the subsidized state and federal program for children of low-income families.

The legislation, which passed last week, is waiting final approval by the governor.

The bill clears the way for more parents to enroll their children with less paperwork and shorter wait periods or in some cases no wait at all to re-enroll if they are late making a payment.

“Florida was once a national model and now it’s been viewed as one of the most complicated programs in the country,” said Linda Merrell of Ormond Beach, co-coordinator of the Florida Child Healthcare Coalition, made up organizations that pushed for changes.

Now, Merrell and others say, barriers will be removed and the state will be able to meet requirements such as increasing enrollment to get its fair share of federal funding.

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