KidCare eligibility expansion bill heads to governor’s desk

Lydia Nusbaum contributed to this report.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – The Florida Legislature passed a bill to expand eligibility for Florida KidCare, which is the state’s program to offer health insurance for children from birth to age 18.

The bill is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for his signature after unanimously passing in the House and Senate chambers.

“I hope we all feel very, very proud to go back home and share that we’re helping low income families make the steps they need to accept promotions to continue their climb to upward mobility through this policy while making sure that their kiddos get the health care they deserve,” Sen. Alexis Calatayud, R-Miami, said Thursday.

The bipartisan legislation was sponsored by Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, and Rep. Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, in the House. Calatayud carried the bill in the Senate.

Currently, families who earn an income up to 200% of the federal poverty level threshold can qualify for the program.

“So what happens to these families, when they’re offered just a 50 cent raise an hour, they will lose health care for their children,” Bartleman said on the House floor. “And this is incredibly devastating for these families.”

The legislation raises the threshold to 300%. For example, a family of four with an income of $90,000 would qualify.

It creates a path with different premium tiers, so families who gradually make more money would then gradually pay more money for their health care insurance.

“And when they get to the end of that threshold, they will glide off the fiscal cliff,” Bartleman explained.

Trabulsy praised the legislation as helping families who have an income too high to qualify for Medicaid. She explained that a family who surpasses the current 200% cap goes from paying $20 a month per family to $260 per child.

“In Florida we understand that a pathway to prosperity should not be limited by the ability to provide health care for our children,” Trabulsy said. “We have a speaker who was willing to put politics aside and help families to thrive.”

KidCare implements the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program to subsidize health insurance coverage for children in families with incomes that are too high to qualify for Medicaid.