By Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
According to newly published data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 28% of Florida adults cannot afford to see a doctor when they need to.
The data for 2022, the latest available, put Florida among the states with the highest rates of people who skipped medical visits because of high costs. Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi — other states that haven’t expanded Medicaid — were also listed, according CDC Disability and Health Data System data published Tuesday.
The Florida figure is down from recent years when more than 33% of Floridians surveyed couldn’t go to the doctor. Similarly, the rate of uninsured Floridians has decreased. Nearly 85% of adults said they had insurance through an employer or the state. In 2018, 75.9% of people had healthcare coverage.
Although the rate of uninsured folks in Florida is not as high as in neighboring states, it is still one of the highest in the nation, according to the CDC data.
According to KFF, lawmakers have devoted more attention to the issue this year since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, which led to nearly 2 million Floridians being kicked off Medicaid.
Although Democrats in the state Legislature attempted to revive the discussion about expanding Medicaid, Republican leaders quickly shut the idea down in favor of investing $1.5 billion in efforts to increase the number of doctors and nurses in the state.
But Florida Decides Healthcare, a new political entity, is trying to get Medicaid expansion on the 2026 ballot.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
