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Poorest Fare Worst for Subsidies

In the wake of President Obama’s State of the Union speech, which highlighted income inequality, health consultant Paul Gionfriddo points out there’s another pressing inequity: health insurance subsidies for some of the poorest Americans.

At his blog Our Health Policy Matters, he writes that people just under the poverty level pay the highest percentage of their income for a health insurance plan if they live in Florida or another state that opted not to expand Medicaid.

Subsidies to help pay for a plan don’t kick in until someone reaches 100 percent of the poverty level, and Gionfriddo writes that since the states haven’t protected people in the gap, Congress should. 

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.