Florida pediatricians want to talk with the state about how the Affordable Care Act can help children. But state officials won’t do it because of a billion-dollar lawsuit with a ruling due any day.
The Agency for Health Care Administration rejected a request from the Florida Pediatric Society to discuss how the state will implement the federal health-care overhaul. Former state lawmaker Sam Bell, a lobbyist for the pediatricians' group, said Florida should consider its half-a-million uninsured children.
"Whatever program is ultimately designed, there are risks where children could fall through the cracks in a system that's really oriented to adults,” said Bell. “So we bring the kind of expertise that will highlight not only where those cracks occur but the kind of care that needs to be mandated as part of the system," he said.
State officials said they refused the meeting because the Pediatric Society is suing them over another matter – access to care for children on Medicaid. The lawsuit, filed in 2005, could cost the state one billion dollars. The ruling could come any day. AHCA said Secretary Liz Dudek and her staff have met with the Governor’s office, the Legislature and others to get their take on the Affordable Care Act. The agency plans to wait for guidance from the feds on how the law will affect Florida.