www.huffpost.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.66.114  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

MAIN MENU


NEWS

U.S. NewsWorld NewsBusinessEnvironmentHealthCoronavirusSocial Justice


POLITICS

Joe BidenCongressExtremismElections 2022


OPINION


ENTERTAINMENT

Culture & ArtsMediaCelebrityTV & Film


LIFE

Style & BeautyFood & DrinkParentingTravelWellnessRelationshipsMoneyHome &
LivingWork/LifeShopping


VOICES

Queer VoicesWomen's VoicesBlack VoicesLatino VoicesAsian Voices


SPECIAL PROJECTS

Highline


HUFFPOST PERSONAL


HOROSCOPES


FOR OUR PARTNERS

Memories In The MakingSleep On ItClean Living


NEWSLETTERS


INTERNATIONAL

AustraliaBrazilCanadaEspañaFranceΕλλάδα (Greece)IndiaItalia日本 (Japan)한국
(Korea)QuébecU.K.U.S.


FOLLOW US


Terms | 
Privacy Policy
Part of HuffPost Politics. ©2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.
Close the sidebar
Ad

PoliticsRon DeSantismedicaid


AS RON DESANTIS BARNSTORMS NEW HAMPSHIRE, THOUSANDS OF FLORIDIANS LOSE HEALTH
INSURANCE

He's attacking Disney and "the woke mob" on the campaign trail, but his policies
back home are making it harder for low-income residents to stay insured.
Open Image ModalBy 
Jonathan Cohn


Senior National Correspondent, HuffPost

Jun 4, 2023, 08:00 AM EDT


Florida’s Ron DeSantis is now officially a candidate for president, and so far
his campaign is going about as expected.

The Republican governor has decried the “malignant ideology” of the left and
“the woke mob,” and he’s promised to make the rest of America more like his
“free state of Florida.” He has suggested that Disney is trying to brainwash
America, and he’s gone after former President Donald Trump too, albeit
indirectly, by urging Republicans to “dispense with a culture of losing” during
an appearance in New Hampshire.

These are the subjects DeSantis wants to discuss and, quite possibly, the ones
that matter most to Republican primary voters. But there’s another topic in the
news that could use some attention. 



Over the past few weeks, roughly a quarter-million Floridians have lost health
insurance coverage through Medicaid. And that’s just the beginning. In the
coming months, even more Medicaid beneficiaries in Florida could lose their
coverage as well ― with many, and quite possibly most, ending up uninsured
altogether. 

It’s a big deal in Florida. It should be a big deal elsewhere too, because a
major reason for the coverage losses are a series of policy decisions that
DeSantis and his administration have made. These decisions say a lot about his
priorities and values, and how he might govern as president.


THE END OF A PANDEMIC POLICY

The story unfolding in Florida is part of a larger one playing out across the
country, as the federal government ends the last of its COVID-19 emergency
measures. One of those initiatives focused on Medicaid, the health insurance
program for low-income Americans that states administer using a combination of
their own funding and money from Washington. 



Some states make it relatively easy to enroll and stay on the program. Others
don’t. And especially in those that make it more difficult, tons of people lose
their coverage even though they remain eligible ― in some cases, simply because
they couldn’t figure out the paperwork. It’s a situation that advocates have
long decried, and one that even Medicaid critics agreed was problematic in the
pandemic, when the need to get medical care was so urgent.

That’s why the pandemic relief package that Congress passed and Trump signed in
March 2020 offered states extra Medicaid funds as long as they suspended their
usual verification and reenrollment procedures. In other words, anybody on
Medicaid would get to stay on it automatically, for the duration of the public
health emergency.

The states agreed, and it’s one reason that Medicaid enrollment swelled ― which,
in turn, was partly why the number of Americans without health insurance fell to
record lows. Now, that arrangement has ended. Once again, states are going
through their Medicaid rolls, requiring beneficiaries to reestablish their
qualifications to stay on the program.



But just as some states have historically made the enrollment process easier,
some are currently going out of their way to minimize coverage losses ― for
example, by using existing databases to verify people’s eligibility
automatically, when possible. Certain states are going even further by changing
their Medicaid programs to make it easier to stay on.

One such state is Oregon, where officials recently worked with President Joe
Biden’s administration on a series of Medicaid changes designed to better
address poverty. A key element was the introduction of “continuous”
eligibility for young children, meaning that those who get onto Medicaid will
automatically stay on the program until they turn 6 years old.

The trade-off is that, almost inevitably, there will be some kids on Medicaid
who are no longer eligible or no longer need the coverage ― say, because their
parents have gotten better-paying jobs with benefits. Oregon officials evidently
figure it’s a small price to pay for helping so many more kids in need. 

“The public health emergency has clearly demonstrated the value of having
continuous health insurance, particularly for populations that experience health
disparities and have had historical barriers to health care access,” said
Elizabeth Gharst, a spokesperson for Oregon’s Health Authority, after the change
was announced.



But officials in some states don’t have that mentality. One of them is Florida,
which last month released its first report on how the Medicaid reverification
process was going.


THE MEDICAID PURGE IN FLORIDA

The state’s official data showed that, in just a few weeks of reviewing records,
Florida had canceled coverage for nearly 250,000 residents.

That’s a lot of people, obviously. But what was perhaps more striking was that
this represented 54% of the records it had reviewed. In other words, somebody
lost coverage in more than half of all the Medicaid cases that Florida examined.

Last week, the health care research organization KFF published a brief comparing
figures from nine states that have begun their review processes in earnest and
are reporting figures. Florida’s proportion of disenrollments was the highest.
And while a handful of states had similar rates, others were dramatically
lower. In Virginia, for example, the rate was just 10%.



It’s impossible to know exactly which Floridians are losing coverage and why. In
all likeliness, some truly don’t qualify for Medicaid anymore. But only 18% of
those losing coverage in the state were definitively determined to no longer
qualify. The rest were disenrolled for “procedural” reasons ― meaning that
something in their paperwork was off.

It’s a safe bet, as the KFF brief noted, that many of these people still qualify
for Medicaid but just struggled to navigate the documentation requirements and
bureaucratic procedures.

Most likely, many will end up with no insurance at all.


A WINDOW INTO A DESANTIS PRESIDENCY

Health care advocates in Florida feared precisely this scenario, practically
begging the state to go slow on redeterminations and to make sure the process
was thorough.

Now that the initial figures are available, 52 organizations have sent a joint
letter asking the governor’s administration to pause the process so it can set
up better notification procedures and increase staff numbers at the agency
processing cases. All eight Democrats who represent Florida in the U.S. House of
Representatives signed a letter making the same basic plea.



“When governors see such large numbers of terminations of coverage for
procedural reasons … they should pause the process and see what is going wrong,”
Joan Alker, a Georgetown University research professor who has been following
the Medicaid redetermination story for months, said at a virtual press
conference in May.

But Florida officials have defended their process as sufficiently careful, while
DeSantis has expressed no interest in making changes ― which, perhaps, isn’t
surprising given his history on health care policy. 

He has a long record of opposing government health care plans, for the same
reasons that most conservatives do: He argues they are too costly and wasteful,
and that they interfere with the free market by sapping individual initiative.

As a member of the House in 2017, he voted to support far-reaching efforts to
repeal the Affordable Care Act. As Florida’s governor, he has refused to support
the ACA’s Medicaid expansion for the state, which is the biggest reason that
more than 12% of Floridians don’t have health insurance. That’s the
fourth-highest rate in the country.



Exactly what role his thinking played in shaping Florida’s approach to Medicaid
redeterminations is an interesting question. The same goes for how DeSantis
feels about so many of his residents losing coverage. But he hasn’t addressed
the topic publicly, and when HuffPost repeatedly asked about it when first
covering this story months ago, his administration didn’t provide answers.

On the presidential campaign trail, DeSantis has generally been appearing in
front of friendly audiences and supportive interlocutors. But he’s going to run
into sharper questioning eventually. At some point — maybe during the primaries,
maybe not until the general election contest — somebody is bound to ask about
these huge coverage losses.

As they should. Government health care programs like Medicaid represent a
massive commitment of federal funds. They are also a lifeline for a large swath
of the population, with the potential to reach even more people who need help. 

DeSantis would have a lot to say about this as president. Voters deserve a
preview of what that would sound like. 




RELATED

Ron DeSantismedicaid


RHEA PERLMAN, WHO SPLIT FROM DANNY DEVITO IN 2012, DROPS A SURPRISE ABOUT THEM


AN 'AMERICA'S GOT TALENT' ACT JUST REDUCED SIMON COWELL TO AN EMOTIONAL MESS


JOHN STAMOS REVEALS WHY HE WAS ‘ANGRY’ THAT OLSEN TWINS DIDN'T RETURN FOR
‘FULLER HOUSE’

Go To Homepage

Suggest a correction
View Comments
Open Image Modal


JONATHAN COHN


Senior National Correspondent, HuffPost


YOU MAY LIKE


WHAT'S HOT

Open Image Modal


DANNY BONADUCE BOUND FOR BRAIN SURGERY AFTER LOSING HIS ABILITY TO WALK

Open Image Modal


FLORIDA MOM ALLEGEDLY LEFT KIDS IN CAR TO SHOPLIFT. THE CAR THEN CAUGHT FIRE.

Open Image Modal


REP. JAMIE RASKIN SAYS HE HOPES TO DECIDE ON SENATE RUN BY FOURTH OF JULY

Open Image Modal


HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS MARCH IN POLAND ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS FOR DEMOCRACY


MORE IN POLITICS

Open Image Modal


MTG CONSTITUENT COMPARES REP. TO THE WOMAN WHO 'GOT EMMETT TILL KILLED'

Open Image Modal


TEXAS BECOMES MOST POPULOUS STATE TO BAN GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE FOR MINORS

Open Image Modal


HOW AN OBSCURE BIPARTISAN SHIPPING CLAUSE COULD DERAIL ONE OF BIDEN’S BIG CLEAN
ENERGY GOALS

Open Image Modal


HALEY SAYS U.S. FORCES 'NEED TO ALIGN' WITH COUNTRIES INCLUDING RUSSIA; CAMPAIGN
SAYS SHE MISSPOKE

Open Image Modal


GAVIN NEWSOM RESPONDS AFTER SCHOOL BOARD BLOCKS CLASSROOM MATERIAL ON HARVEY
MILK

Open Image Modal


DONALD TRUMP IS PROMISING PEACE IN A SECOND TERM. WAR WITH IRAN SEEMS MORE
LIKELY.

Open Image Modal


REP. MAXWELL FROST CONDEMNS FLORIDA GOV. AT PARAMORE CONCERT: 'F**K RON
DESANTIS'

Open Image Modal


RON DESANTIS IS TRYING TO PROVE THAT HE’S A HUMAN

Open Image Modal


IN GUN LAW PUSH, TENNESSEE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE MEMO SAYS NRA PREFERS TO 'ROUND UP
MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE'

Open Image Modal


LIBRARIES AND PUBLISHERS FILE SUIT OVER ARKANSAS' 'UNCONSTITUTIONAL' BOOK
RESTRICTIONS

Open Image Modal


GOP CANDIDATES MUST HAVE 40,000 DONORS AND POLL AT 1% TO MAKE FIRST DEBATE STAGE

Open Image Modal


THIS GAY TEACHER QUIT AFTER 8.5 YEARS — AND ONE THING PUSHED HER OVER THE EDGE

Open Image Modal


5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE DEBT CEILING DRAMA

Open Image Modal


MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE ACCIDENTALLY TWEETS VIDEO OF MAN FLIPPING HER OFF

Open Image Modal


AOC PARODY ACCOUNT DISAPPEARS FROM TWITTER AFTER MUSK BOOST

Open Image Modal


BIDEN ADMINISTRATION BANS NEW OIL DRILLING NEAR 'IRREPLACEABLE' TRIBAL CULTURAL
SITE IN NEW MEXICO

Open Image Modal


DOJ WON'T CHARGE PENCE OVER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

Open Image Modal


'REAGAN-ESQUE' DODGER LEGEND WEIGHS GOP BID TO FILL DIANNE FEINSTEIN SENATE SEAT

Open Image Modal


TRUMP MAKES ONE OF HIS MOST INFLATED CLAIMS YET INVOLVING THE MONA LISA

Open Image Modal


BLINKEN SAYS NO UKRAINE CEASE-FIRE WITHOUT A PEACE DEAL THAT INCLUDES RUSSIA'S
WITHDRAWAL

Open Image Modal


MARK LEVIN: JAN. 6 RIOTER WHO THREATENED PELOSI, SHOVED COP 'DIDN'T DO ANYTHING'

Open Image Modal


EX-FEDERAL PROSECUTOR PREDICTS WHAT MAY BE TRUMP'S UNDOING IN CLASSIFIED
DOCUMENTS CASE

Open Image Modal


RNC DEBATE RULE MAY PREVENT RUBIO-SLAYER CHRIS CHRISTIE FROM DOING THE SAME TO
TRUMP

Open Image Modal


JUDGE DISQUALIFIES HIMSELF FROM DISNEY-DESANTIS CASE OVER RELATIVE'S SHARES

Open Image Modal


CONSERVATIVE PUNDIT SPOTS ‘CANARY IN THE COAL MINE' FOR TRUMP

Open Image Modal


JEN PSAKI GIVES EYEBROW-RAISING REASON WHY BIDEN IS 'COMFORTABLE' TO MANY IN GOP

Open Image Modal


KAYLEIGH MCENANY RESPONDS TO TRUMP ATTACK WITH 1 OF HIS FAVORITE ROUTINES

Open Image Modal


‘HE CAN’T BE TRUSTED’: GOP LAWMAKER YANKS TRUMP ENDORSEMENT IN SCATHING
STATEMENT

Open Image Modal


ROGER STONE CAUGHT ON CAMERA REVEALING HOW HE’S MANIPULATED TRUMP FOR DECADES

Open Image Modal


DONALD TRUMP JR. BOTCHES NAME OF JEANINE PIRRO BOOK HE PUBLISHED

Open Image Modal


TRUMP AND DESANTIS JAB AT EACH OTHER ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN 1ST DUELING
APPEARANCES

Open Image Modal


RIGHT-WING COMIC CRACKS 'OVERTLY' RACIST JOKE AS NEWSMAX BIT GOES OFF THE RAILS

Open Image Modal


JUST DAYS TO SPARE, SENATE GIVES FINAL APPROVAL TO DEBT CEILING DEAL, SENDING IT
TO BIDEN

Open Image Modal


FOX NEWS’ IN-HOUSE TRUMP ADVISER ALLOWS HIM TO LIE AND WHINE FOR FULL HOUR IN
IOWA

Open Image Modal


TRUMP SAYS HE DOESN’T KNOW ‘ANYTHING’ ABOUT A TAPE OF HIM DISCUSSING SENSITIVE
DOCUMENTS

Open Image Modal


DESANTIS DODGES QUESTION ON HOW TO SAY HIS LAST NAME

Open Image Modal


TRUMP AND DESANTIS’ LOPSIDED FEUD ESCALATES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Open Image Modal


DONALD TRUMP SEEMS ALMOST SYMPATHETIC TO JOE BIDEN'S FALL

Open Image Modal


REPUBLICANS PROPOSE TOUGHER SANCTIONS AGAINST TALIBAN OVER HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS

Open Image Modal


BIDEN TRIPS AND FALLS DURING U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY COMMENCEMENT

Open Image Modal


DONALD TRUMP APPARENTLY DOESN'T LIKE THE TERM 'WOKE' NOW

Open Image Modal


KARI LAKE'S CHOICE OF RALLY MUSIC HAS PEOPLE HOWLING

Open Image Modal


REPUBLICANS ‘NOT INTERESTED’ IN WHETHER BIDEN BRIBE ALLEGATION IS TRUE, CHUCK
GRASSLEY SAYS

Open Image Modal


‘ARE YOU BLIND?’: RON DESANTIS SNAPS AT REPORTER ASKING WHY HE WON’T TAKE
QUESTIONS

Open Image Modal


SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH EMPLOYER OVER UNION IN STRIKE CASE

Open Image Modal


LLOYD AUSTIN SAYS 'IT'S UNFORTUNATE' HIS CHINESE COUNTERPART WON'T MEET WITH HIM

Open Image Modal


MEET THE MILLIONAIRE 'COWBOY' AND EX-NAVY SEAL BEING PRIMED TO TAKE ON SEN. JON
TESTER

Open Image Modal


NIKKI HALEY'S HUSBAND TO DEPLOY WITH NATIONAL GUARD TO AFRICA

Open Image Modal


FORMER GOP REP ANSWERS IF TRUMP OR DESANTIS IS GREATER THREAT, DOESN’T HOLD BACK

Open Image Modal


REP. LAUREN BOEBERT REVEALS HOW SHE REALLY FEELS WHEN ‘POSITIVE’ VOTERS CALL HER
OFFICE

Open Image Modal


MIKE PENCE WILL LAUNCH HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN IN IOWA NEXT WEEK

Open Image Modal


‘GAME OVER’: LEGAL EXPERTS PREDICT DIRE OUTCOME FOR TRUMP AFTER TAPE REPORT

Open Image Modal


TRUMP REVEALS WHAT MAKES DESANTIS 'VERY UPSET' IN STRANGE NEW ATTACK

Open Image Modal


REPUBLICAN SENATOR MAKES BAFFLING CLAIM ABOUT REALITY DURING BIZARRE RANT

Open Image Modal


FOX NEWS' JUAN WILLIAMS BURSTS OUT LAUGHING OVER TRUMP BOAST

Open Image Modal


AIDE FIRED BY GEORGE SANTOS SAYS HE GOT HIS JOB AFTER SENDING MONEY TO
REPUBLICAN'S DEPUTY

Open Image Modal


EX-TRUMP ATTORNEY: PROSECUTORS HAVE 'THEIR FOOT ON HIS NECK' IN OBSTRUCTION CASE

Open Image Modal


DEBT CEILING DEAL CLEARS HOUSE ON BIPARTISAN VOTE; SENATE UP NEXT

Open Image Modal


TRUMP TAPED DISCUSSING SENSITIVE DOCUMENT HE TOOK FROM WHITE HOUSE: REPORTS

Open Image Modal


JAMES COMER REJECTS FBI’S OFFER TO SHOW HIM DOCUMENTS HE'S REQUESTING IN BIDEN
PROBE

Open Image Modal


2 DEMOCRATIC SENATORS VOTE WITH GOP TO REPEAL BIDEN'S STUDENT LOAN RELIEF PLAN

Open Image Modal


BROTHER OF TOMMY TUBERVILLE REBUKES SENATOR'S 'VILE RHETORIC' ON RACE

Open Image Modal


GREG ABBOTT REPLACES TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL WITHOUT COMMENT ON KEN PAXTON

Open Image Modal


CHICAGO’S NEW MAYOR IS ABOUT TO MAKE HIS BIGGEST DECISION YET

Open Image Modal


DOJ SUES JIM JUSTICE'S COAL OPERATION OVER $5 MILLION IN UNPAID FINES

Open Image Modal


SUPREME COURT SKIRTS NEW ETHICS STANDARDS WITH LATEST ORDERS

Open Image Modal


OKLAHOMA HIGH COURT STRIKES DOWN 2 ABORTION BANS

Open Image Modal


BRIAN KILMEADE HARSHLY SCOLDS TRUMP FOR INSULTING KAYLEIGH MCENANY

Open Image Modal


AFTER CALLING JOE BIDEN SENILE, REPUBLICANS COMPLAIN HE OUTSMARTED THEM

Open Image Modal


CHRIS CHRISTIE TO LAUNCH GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN NEXT WEEK

Open Image Modal


MOTHER OF ASHLI BABBITT ARRESTED IN SCUFFLE DURING WASHINGTON PROTEST

Open Image Modal


THIS CONTROVERSIAL FIGHT IS AT THE CENTER OF THE DEBT CEILING DEAL

Open Image Modal


THIS CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE IS NOW BRAGGING ABOUT ADVISING HOUSE REPUBLICANS

Open Image Modal


WHOOPI GOLDBERG RESPONDS TO RON DESANTIS' 'WAR ON WOKE' WITH WITHERING WARNING

Open Image Modal


GOP REP WHINES ABOUT 99-PAGE BILL, GETS SCHOOLED WITH SIMPLE MATH

Open Image Modal


TRUMP VOWS TO ABOLISH A PART OF THE CONSTITUTION ON ‘DAY ONE’ IF HE WINS

Open Image Modal


GERALDO RIVERA'S PLAN TO STOP TRUMP FOREVER GETS TRASHED ON TWITTER

Open Image Modal


NICOLLE WALLACE LITERALLY LAUGHS OUT LOUD AT RON DESANTIS' BIZARRE PROMISE

Open Image Modal


TRUMP SLAMS LONGTIME LOYALIST KAYLEIGH MCENANY WITH A WEIRD NEW NICKNAME

Open Image Modal


HOUSE REPUBLICANS PROJECT CONFIDENCE AHEAD OF VOTE ON DEBT LIMIT DEAL


















NEWSPOLITICSENTERTAINMENTLIFEVOICESHUFFPOST PERSONALSHOPPINGNEWSLETTERS
About UsAdvertiseContact UsRSSFAQCareersArchiveUser AgreementComment PolicyDMCA
PolicyHuffPost Press RoomAccessibility StatementPrivacy PolicyConsent
Preferences

Part of HuffPost Politics. ©2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Huffington Post