Lawmakers were called upon in Jacksonville today to close the Florida health care coverage gap. The health advocacy group Florida CHAIN made a stop on its statewide tour.
Local leaders and health care advocates gathered today at the Urban League downtown. They spoke behind a display of more than 70 photos stretched from one side of the room to the other. The photos were of Floridians who don’t have healthcare coverage. Florida CHAIN Advocacy Director Athena Smith Ford says this traveling photo exhibit has a purpose.
"There are nearly 1 million Floridians that are stuck in the coverage gap, and so we have collected photographs that represent them across the state until they make their way to Tallahassee on Mar. 18," Ford said
Ford said Florida has the opportunity to accept tens of billions of federal dollars to give its most vulnerable citizens access to insurance. The Florida coverage gap consists of nearly a million Floridians who are unable to pay for private health insurance but make too much to qualify for Medicaid. Murphy Stidham, WJCT News.
