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Just 30 Buy FL Health Exchange Policies

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Just 30 uninsured Floridians have signed up for policies on a 6-month-old health, state-backed insurance website, according to the Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau.

This past spring, legislators approved $900,000 for the Florida Health Choices project, while declining to expand Medicaid health coverage for 764,000 poor state residents, the Times/Herald reports. Supporters of the state program blame the Affordable Care Act’s federal healthcare.gov website for the dismal numbers.

Healthcare.gov provides comprehensive health insurance plans, often with income-based subsidies. The Florida website offers specialized, discount policies for dental care, prescription drugs and such for people falling into the health insurance “coverage gap,” the Times/Herald reports.

Florida Health Choices executive Rose Naff adds that little of the $900,000 has been spent, partly because of problems with the website vendor, according to the Times/Herald.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.