November 1 marked the start of open enrollment to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Residents of Florida, along with three dozen other states can shop for plans online at healthcare.gov through the end of January. Florida residents led in enrollment last year with about 1.6 million sign ups. ACA navigators are already working to reach more people this year and get them signed up for coverage.
We’ll take a closer look at what’s different this year including an increased tax penalty for those who choose to go without health insurance. Plus, the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center for Children and Families has released a new report exploring rates of uninsured children in the U.S. and how the ACA, Medicaid, and CHIP have helped bring the rate of uninsured kids down to record lows. We’ll take a closer look at the data and how Florida compares with the rest of the nation.
Guests:
Joan Alker, Executive Director of the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center for Children and Families
Lynne Thorpe, Regional Director for the Health Planning Council of Southwest Florida’s Navigator Program
