Florida health insurance

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status report:
Florida state health insurance exchange

What progress is being made in setting up its federally-mandated Florida state health insurance exchange?"

About state health insurance exchanges

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How did Florida officials vote on health reform?

H.R.2: Repealing the Health Care Bill

#14

Date of Vote: 1/19/2011 Status: House passed 245-189, 1 not voting

HOUSE|SENATE

1/19/2011--Passed House amended. Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions. [more]

Yes (19)

• Sandy Adams
• Gus Bilirakis
• Vern Buchanan
• Ander Crenshaw
• Mario Diaz-Balart
• Connie Mack
• John Mica

• Jeff Miller
• Richard Nugent
• Bill Posey
• David Rivera
• Thomas Rooney
• Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
• Dennis Ross

• Steve Southerland
• Clifford Stearns
• Daniel Webster
• Allen West
• C. W. Young

Our
Pick

No (6)

• Corrine Brown
• Kathy Castor
• Ted Deutch
• Alcee Hastings
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz
• Frederica Wilson

how healthy is living in Florida?

Florida fell two spots in 2010 – ranking as the 37th healthiest state to live in – according to the 2010 edition of America's Health Rankings® from the United Health Foundation.

The good news:

• The state's ranking for violent crime improved slightly, from 46th to 43rd over the past year, as the rate declined form 689 offenses per 100,000 population to 613.
• The prevalence of smoking in the state has decreased from 31.7 percent to 18.1 percent of the population since 1990.
• The reported noted that the state had low rates of both cancer and cadiovascular deaths.

The bad news:

• The rate of children under age 18 in poverty increased from 18.3 percent to 21 percent since 2009.

Florida's best and worst category ratings:

• Cancer deaths – 10th
• Cardiovascular deaths – 10th
• High school graduation – 44th
• Infectious disease – 48th
• Lack of health insurance – 48th
• Geographic disparity – 49th

more details

• See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Florida.
• Trust for America's Health ia another source for key Florida health quality findings. In addition, 2010's federal health reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), included the creation of a prevention fund to provide more than $16 billion over the next 10 years to invest in effective, proven prevention efforts, like childhood obesity prevention and tobacco cessation, and the site has a report on how it impacts Florida here.

get local health results

State snapshot too large? Get county-by-county health rankings for Florida, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin.

does Florida have a health insurance high risk pool?

Florida Comprehensive Health Association (closed to new enrollees since 1991)
(850) 309-1200

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Starting in 2010, Florida started offering health care insurance coverage to residents through the federally established temporary high-risk pool program. To find out more about Florida's participation, click here.

Risk pools are state-sponsored programs to help people with a history of medical problems in their family to purchase coverage. These pools are for people who can afford to buy health insurance, but are not able to get underwritten in the private market because of a pre-existing health condition. These programs can vary significantly from state to state in price, benefits and number of people served. Often insurance companies doing business in the state are required to contribute to the pool to keep it in the black. In the best cases, they allow people to be able to switch jobs or become self-employed without the fear of losing their health insurance coverage. Read more about risk pools here.

how to find health insurance in Florida

Cover The Uninsured is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders. Read more information on its efforts. It is a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

• Cover The Uninsured's facts on the uninsured in Florida and all other states.
• The Foundation for Health Coverage Education's guide on how to find health insurance in Florida.
• Materiales En Español – Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown's Florida health insurance guide

Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute has researched and written state-by-state guides for finding and keeping health insurance. It updates these guides as federal and state policies change. A number of non-profit organizations help fund its research. Learn more about the Health Policy Institute.

Review Georgetown's guide for Florida.

Health insurance plan report cards for Florida

The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, non-profit organization that, among other things, provides health care plan report cards for consumers.

Go here to search for Florida health insurance plan report cards.

Florida government health insurance resources

Florida Department of Health – Official government Web site for department responsible for health care services for Floridans.

Florida Kid Care – State program to help children under 19 get health insurance coverage through MediKids, Healthy Kids, Children's Medical Services or Medicaid for Children.

The Florida Department of Financial Services – is the place for consumers to check out their insurance agent or company or to access the state consumer hotline (1-877-693-5236, is available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m) or to file a complaint.

FloridaHealthFinder.gov – a state-run site designed to connect consumers with health care information and services, including downloadable PDF guides to health and human services and more.

health care advocacy groups in Florida

Florida CHAIN (Community Health Action Information Network) – a statewide network organization dedicated to improving the health of all Floridians by promoting sustainable access to affordable, effective health care.

Florida Consumer Action Network (FCAN) – a grassroots organization which empowers citizens to influence public policy by organizing and educating in areas where consumer voices are underrepresented. FCAN is working with Health are for America NOW to create meaningful health care reform."