NCLR recently released its report on the impact on Latinos of the failure of Florida to expand Medicaid. Joining NCLR for a discussion and press conference was Planned Parenthood, Florida CHAIN, Mi Familia Vota, WellCare, Hispanic Health Initiative, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando, Rep. Torres, Rep. Rangel, and Sen. Soto. The case for Medicaid expansion will be made as we go into this fall’s election and Sunshine Advocacy looks forward to being a part of this campaign.
The current failure to expand Medicaid in Florida under the Aīordable Care Act (ACA) has had a disparate, adverse impact on the health of the Latinos community:
- According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly 200,000 Hispanics are in the coverage gap as a result of the state’s failure to expand Medicaid.
- Latinos are disproportionately represented among those in the Medicaid coverage gap. While Hispanics compose 23% of Florida’s population, they represent 26% of Floridians in the coverage gap.
- Thirty-six percent of nonelderly Latinos in Florida are uninsured—the third-highest rate of uninsured Latinos of any state in the country.
- Lack of insurance and access to preventive care exacerbates health disparities for Hispanics, who are more likely to be confronted with diseases that require routine health management such as diabetes, kidney disease, and HIV/AIDS.
In addition to reducing health disparities for Hispanics, expanding Medicaid carries broader socioeconomic benefits for Latinos. Medicaid expansion has the potential to:
- Improve the financial security of Latinos and other low-income Floridians by reducing the incidence of medical bankruptcies.
- Create up to 121,000 new jobs and generate $71 billion in economic activity during the Įrst ten years. Latino workers in particular, who are disproportionately clustered in jobs that pay by the hour and are more vulnerable to income loss due to their own illness or that of a family member, stand to benefit.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
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I can thank you enough for your efforts to expand medicaid here in Florida. I know that you will succeed I work with pico years ago to create after school programs along with zelene montenegro and may others in orlando fkorida and we succeed. .today I am battling may sickness and unemployed no insurance and do not qualify for medicaid. No one knows the difficulty and strains this puts on a family, was also denied disability.. I have found that there is nothing in place for people in my situation no one will help…I pray that you succeed in this cause. .I wish I could fight along with you like years past but cant..maybe my story helps.
God bless