Florida Health Insurance

How healthy is living in Florida?

Only three other states have a higher percentage of uninsureds than Florida. A recent study shows that 21.2 percent of Floridians do not have health coverage, an even higher percentage than 2006. Making the problem even worse is the fact that the state's risk pool -- designed to provide coverage to those who cannot medically get private insurance -- has been closed to new enrollees since 1991.

In 2007, Florida maintained its rank of being named the 41st most healthy of the 50 states in an annual study conducted by the United Health Foundation.

Several factors lead to this low ranking, including a low 66.4 percent graduation rate, a high violent crime rate (712 instances per 100,000 people) and a high rate (41 per 100,000) of infectious disease.

Among bright spots for the state: the percentage of children in poverty continued its drop down to 14.6, with its ranking compared to other states just above the halfway mark.

Florida''s commitment to mental health care is called into question in this article, Florida pays a high price because mental health needs go unmet, in the HeraldTribune.

The cost of heatlh care in Florida is ranked "high" in comparison to other state, and the quality of that care is ranked "low."

See the United Health Foundation's latest findings on Florida.

Does Florida have a risk pool for the uninsurable?

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

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 poolto 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. Find more on risk pools here.

Mini-meds a guaranteed-issue option for those who are medically uninsurable

An option for the medically uninsurable is a guaranteed-issue mini-med health insurance plan. There is no underwriting and no health questions are asked.

These plans provide basic coverage but are not designed to help with catastrophic expenses. They can often count as creditable coverage, eliminating the waiting period for pre-existing conditions if you later move to an employer-based plan (based on the same criteria as other plans offering creditable coverage.) See our article about this new class of health insurance here.

Cover The Uninsured's guide on finding 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.
• Its guide on how to find health insurance in Florida.
• Materiales En Español -- Guías para encontrar cobertura de seguro de salud.

Georgetown University's Guide to Health Insurance in Florida

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 contribute to funding its research. Find more on the Health Policy Institute.

• Georgetown's guide for Florida.

News headlines on Florida health insurance

Find the most recent headlines on health insurance in Florida at Google News or Yahoo News.

Want single-payer health care? Concerned about the uninsured?
Contact your elected officials about health care issues

Contact your federal officials. Phone calls are best. Faxes are good, too. Since 9-11, postal mail creates long delays, and many members of Congress simply do not take e-mail seriously -- however, since e-mail is so easy it doesn't hurt to do that, too. Members of the Senate and Congress will usually ignore any correspondence that is not from their district, so it's not desirable to blanket e-mail them (This type of abuse is why many legislators do not view e-mail favorably). The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a guide on how to contact your elected officials, including a valuable list of dos and don'ts.

• Contact the White House
  Phone: toll free 1-800-671-7887 (ask for the Comment Line)
  FAX: 1 202-456-2461 (fax)
  E-mail:comments@whitehouse.gov
  
  
• Find contact information on your U.S. Representative
  Locate by using your ZIP Code
  Or if you know who your representative is, simply call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 1-800-962-3524

• Senator Mel Martinez
  PHONE: toll-free 1-866-630-7106 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-228-5171 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail

• Senator Bill Nelson
  PHONE: 202-224-5274 (DC office)
  FAX: 202-228-2183 (DC office)
  Local offices
  Contact by E-mail
  
  

Contact your state officials:

• Florida Governor Charlie Crist
  PL-05 The Capitol
  Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
  PHONE: (850) 488-7146
  FAX: (850) 487-0801
  Contact by e-mail
  
  
  
• Contact your Florida State Senator
• Contact your Florida State Representative

USNews health insurance rankings for Florida

US News does an annual ranking of what it considers the best health insurance plans in each state. Visit its reports on various health insurance or medical insurance plans being offered in Florida.

Official State Goverment Sites with Florida Health Insurance Information

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

Health Insurance Guide for Consumers - by the Florida Department of Financial Services.

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.