Hundreds of thousands of Floridians have lost their Medicaid coverage since April. That’s when a federal mandate that prohibited states from dropping anyone from Medicaid rolls expired.
This protection, which was established at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, also kept people continuously enrolled in the federal insurance program without reapplying.
We talk with two Florida-based health care reporters to find out why the state leads the nation in disenrollments.
Guests:
- Verónica Zaragovia, health care reporter for WLRN.
- Daniel Chang, correspondent for KFF News covering Florida and the South.
Florida’s Medicaid restriction for gender-affirming care struck down in federal court
This week, a federal court blocked Florida’s ban on Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care.
The ruling comes just two weeks after the same U.S. district judge issued a preliminary injunction on Florida’s law prohibiting such care for minors.
And there’s a growing list of court rulings that have struck down or blocked similar bans or restrictions in other states like Indiana and Arkansas.
Guests:
- Gary Fineout, reporter with Politico.
- Kathryn Varn, Tampa Bay correspondent for Axios.
Funding flows to Florida’s Wildlife Corridor
Gov. Ron DeSantis has boasted record environmental spending in the recently signed state budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. That includes $850 million for the wildlife corridors in the state and $100 million in recurring funding for the Florida Forever land protection program.
But the governor vetoed $100 million from another conservation program — one aimed at keeping swaths of rural lands from being developed.
We take a look at how the state plans to protect its environmentally sensitive lands.
Guest:
Steve Newborn, reporter for WUSF News.
