Florida Healthy Kids

Press

Healthy Kids Press Contact,
Ashley Carr, Chief Marketing Officer,
(850) 701-6160, [email protected].

02/09/2018

Federal Budget Deal Lengthens Six-Year CHIP Funding Extension to Ten Years

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Within the federal budget deal signed into law Friday by President Donald Trump, Congress lengthened the previously approved six-year funding extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to a full 10 years. More than 340,000 children in Florida currently have CHIP-funded insurance coverage through Florida KidCare, the state’s high-quality, low-cost health insurance program for kids. More than 257,000 Florida children are currently uninsured, and an estimated 147,000 of those kids qualify for free or low-cost insurance though the KidCare program.

Florida Healthy Kids Corporation CEO Rebecca Matthews said, “I was excited about the possibilities made available by a six-year funding extension, and I am ecstatic about all that Florida Healthy Kids can accomplish with a full 10 years of funding in place. Florida KidCare enrollment is already at a three-year high, covering an astounding 63 percent of all children statewide, and we will continue working to drive that number higher in the years ahead. Through Congress’ long-term commitment to children across our country, we are now able to do more to set Florida kids—our next generation of Florida leaders—up for years of success.”

The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation is a nonprofit, public-private partnership that works to expand access to comprehensive, child-centered health insurance to all Florida kids under an integrated Florida KidCare brand that includes MediKids, Medicaid, Children’s Medical Services’ Managed Care Plan, and Florida Healthy Kids’ subsidized and full-pay plans.

Learn more about the Corporation’s efforts to get Florida kids covered and apply for free at www.FloridaKidCare.org.