Healthcare Providers for Medicaid Expansion

HEALTH PROVIDERS SIGN-ON LETTER

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As healthcare providers, we have waited eight years for our legislators to close Florida’s health care gap. During this time, we have watched our patients delay necessary care, go into bankruptcy, and die from lack of access to affordable health insurance. In essence, they are living sicker and dying younger because of our collective inaction.

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400,000 Floridians languish in the health care gap. Over 70% of these uninsured families have at least one full time worker. They earn too little to qualify for tax credits to buy health insurance coverage in the ACA Marketplace. They also earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. In Florida, to be eligible for Medicaid the most a family of 3 can earn and still qualify is about $7,000 a year (30% of Federal Poverty Level). Adults with no children aren't eligible at all. We care for these Floridians as our patients when they show up to our clinics and hospitals with advanced illness, too often beyond when we can still help.

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When states close the gap and provide coverage for the uninsured, people live longer and healthier lives without fear of financial catastrophe from medical bills. As Florida’s healthcare workers, we cannot afford to tolerate our legislators’ inaction on covering the uninsured any longer. Florida lawmakers need to close the gap now.

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Signed by:

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• Co-Chair: Mona Mangat,MD 

• Co-Chair: Dr. Sarah Stumbar, MD

• Student-Chair: Daniel Orlan, Medical Student
   

• Beth Stager, RN

• Anna Lizama Clark, MD

• Holli Metcalf, APRN

• Nitya Ramalingam, Medical Student

• Natalie Wharton, Medical Student

• Luke Davis, Medical Student

• Chloe Gould, Medical Student

• Fatimat Shotande, Medical Student

• David Berman, DO

• Roxana Stoici, MD

• Melanie Hagen, MD

• Shawna Doran, NP, MSN

• Theresa Rodriguez, MFT

• E. Spaulding, RN

• Juliana Guitelman, PhD, ABI