By Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix
In Summary:
Florida’s KidCare expansion remains stalled more than three years after receiving bipartisan legislative approval. State and federal officials have disputed a requirement that eligible children receive 12 months of continuous coverage, including when families miss monthly premium payments. Senators from both parties questioned Agency for Health Care Administration officials about the delay but did not receive a firm implementation date.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration still hasn't given firm answers on when — or whether — it intends to expand a safety-net healthcare program for low-income children that the Florida Legislature has approved.
Related: Florida child well-being remains stagnant as education improves but health rankings decline.
A bipartisan pair of state senators pushed a top official at the Agency for Health Care Administration for answers Friday on a two-year legal tussle between the governor’s office and the federal government over providing healthcare access to children in lower-income households.
At the heart of the debate is a requirement that children who qualify for Medicaid-funded healthcare remain continuously eligible for one year, including the children’s health insurance program, dubbed Florida KidCare.
The delay in expanding eligibility started when Democrat Joe Biden was in office but has continued during the Trump administration, with Florida filing a new lawsuit, at least its third, earlier this year in the dispute.
Lori Berman (Photo via Florida Senate)
“What are you doing?” asked Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman. “What is AHCA doing to resolve this issue?”
Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican, noted “it has been more than three years” since the Legislature first signed off on expanding KidCare eligibility.
The issue came up during a meeting of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, which approves mid-fiscal-year budget amendments, because AHCA asked to shift money around to align the Florida KidCare program with current spending estimates.
But one top AHCA official, citing ongoing litigation, couldn't say when he expected the case to be resolved or when income eligibility for the program would expand under the law. Families must earn 200% of the federal poverty level to qualify, $66,000 annually for a family of four in 2026.
Championed by former Republican House Speaker Paul Renner, the law expanded income eligibility to children living in families that earn 300% of the federal poverty level, or $99,000 for a family of four.
Several Democrats on the panel voted against the budget amendment AHCA is seeking.
“There’s too much uncertainty regarding what we are doing,” Berman said. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”
What’s going on
The DeSantis administration has filed at least three lawsuits against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, one of which is still being litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Pensacola.
“We’re working through that process as much as we can and working with the attorneys to resolve this case,” Jon Manalo, deputy secretary for AHCA, told members of the panel when asked about the litigation.
Another AHCA official was unable to answer Berman’s questions about whether the state is still removing children from the KidCare program for failing to pay monthly premiums — the issue at the center of the dispute between the state and federal government.
Top AHCA officials have been unable to publicly answer legislators’ questions about how many children were disenrolled during the legal dispute or, when they have answered, have provided misleading or inaccurate information.
When senators asked in October 2025 how many children the state removed from KidCare for failing to pay premiums, Brian Meyer, who headed Medicaid at the time, said he didn’t know.
The Florida Healthy Kids Corp. (which helps administer Florida KidCare) subsequently told the Phoenix that more than 17,000 children were disenrolled for failing to pay premiums. But that information was incorrect. The state removed more than 43,000 children over 12 months for that reason.
Meyer testified before the Senate six months later that he had been having conversations with CMS and that the state was “actively trying to get to an agreeable place between both parties so we can move this program.”
The Phoenix reported last month that Crestview Republican Don Gaetz recommended Florida’s next governor take a close look at the dispute and consider dropping the lawsuit.
