DCF

The Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee received updates from DCF, AHCA and Florida Healthy Kids Corp. Many of the concerns focus on children losing coverage.

The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction that would require reinstating coverage to people and ending additional terminations until adequate information is provided.

The Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear presentations from AHCA, DCF and Florida Healthy Kids Corp.

A federal audit found lax oversight and multiple cases of child welfare workers failing to follow state regulations on psychotropic or opioid medication.

Enrollment totaled 5,254,460 people in August, down from 5,360,069 in July, according to data posted on the state Agency for Health Care Administration website.

The groups say the state's process for redetermining coverage eligibility is unfair to recipients who are Latino, immigrant or Black.

The three plaintiffs are asking for an end to the current notification process and for coverage to be reinstated. A DCF spokesperson says CMS approved Florida's "unwinding" plan.

More than half of those removed from Medicaid were terminated for so-called “procedural,” reasons, like not responding to mail, outdated contact info or computer glitches.

According to the advocacy group UnidosUS, Spanish speakers in Florida waited an average of 2.5 hours in July and August, while English speakers waited an average of 36 minutes.

The Florida Policy Institute's latest push comes after data shows Florida removed 408,000 people from its Medicaid rolls since April. Only Texas has surpassed Florida's numbers.