THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Kidcare bills languishing
Mar 31, 2009
Advocates for uninsured children are urging lawmakers to hear a bill to streamline enrollment procedures for KidCare, the state’s subsidized health insurance program for children, reminding them that it would bring in extra federal money they do.
The advocacy group CHAIN is asking lawmakers to move on the bills (SB 918, HB 1329), which seek to remove barriers to getting kids into KidCare and make it less likely they’ll drop out of their coverage for bureaucratic reasons.
The bills, sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, and Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, haven’t been heard in any committees in either chamber and have several committee references on each side of the Capitol.
CHAIN notes that Florida has the third highest number of uninsured children in the country – about 700,000 – and that more than 70 percent of them would be eligible for state-subidized coverage of some kind.
“Florida’s children are waiting for KidCare bills SB 918 and HB 1329 to be put on the calendars to be heard,” CHAIN said Monday in an email alert urging its members to contact legislators.