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Theme Parks Dropping ‘Mini-Meds’

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Tampa will drop their “mini-med” plans for seasonal and part-time workers come Jan. 1, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Only a small fraction of employees are enrolled in the extremely limited benefit plans, which don’t meet the standards set by the Affordable Care Act for health insurance plans. Universal Studios announced early this year it would also be getting rid of its “mini-med” plans. It’s still uncertain if any of the theme parks will offer comprehensive health plans to their part-time employees.

In other news about the Affordable Care Act, Primary Care Access Network in Central Florida says it will hire a dozen counselors to help people sign up for health insurance on the new online Marketplace, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Health-advocacy group Florida CHAIN will have nine trained navigators; the nonprofit is also planning enrollment fairs across Florida.

Groups that received federal funds for navigators, including $7.8 million in Florida, have received letters from a U.S. House Committee asking them to report how they are spending the money, and other information, Kaiser Health News reports.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.