TAMPA, Fla. — Roughly 250,000 Floridians have lost their Medicaid health coverage since mid-April when the state began reviewing the eligibility of more than 5 million people on its rolls, a figure that swelled in the pandemic.
More are expected to lose coverage as the Florida Department of Children and Families continues the review process, which was paused when the federal government asked states to suspend yearly checks on who qualified. More than 1.7 million people got on Medicaid during the pandemic.
Health care advocates have warned about the adverse impacts of dropping children, parents and young adults from the federal health insurance program for the nation’s poorest residents. State officials said earlier this year they were aware of at least 900,000 individuals who would no longer qualify once the public health emergency ends. Another 850,000 recipients had not responded to requests for information to determine their eligibility.
