Health Care Insurances in Florida
Access to health insurance is one of the most critical issues of concern in the modern US health care system. Another interrelated problem is the availability of information regarding health insurance programs. However, it is easy to cope with due to launching the website offering all needed details. According to it, in the state of Florida, there are numerous options for purchasing health insurance plans – both family and individual. It can be explained by the involvement of the state in the federally facilitated marketplace that allows different options for purchasing insurances – standards, premium, and cost-shared.
This initiative is connected to joining the Affordable Care Act. Still, there are other specificities of the insurance system in the state of Florida. For instance, the state has not expanded Medicaid to offer more benefits for low-income adults. However, it does recognize the criticality of caring for children. Therefore, the state launched Florida’s Children’s Health Insurance Program to support eligible children and provide them with low-cost insurances (“Florida health insurance,” 2017).
General health statistics
Regardless of being a part of the federally facilitated insurance marketplace, some significant challenges are revealed when analyzing health statistics of the state. To begin with, the most common issue is the fact that residents are not covered by health insurance. Florida is the 32nd healthiest state in the United States that proves that there are significant problems that should be dealt with (“Florida health insurance,” 2017). Nowadays, slightly more than 20 percent of Florida residents are uninsured. The challenge remains critical regardless of employer support commonly provided to eligible employees (“Florida health plans,” 2017). Still, it is essential to note that, in most cases, employers do not cover all insurance expenses that may contribute to the existence of the problem mentioned above.
State’s position on health care reform
Based on the high rate of those uninsured, it is evident that the state should address the challenge of the accessibility of insurance plans. It means that local authorities should consider health care reform seriously. As for now, Florida is a party to the Affordable Care Act but does not offer expanded support to low-income under Medicaid.
That being said, the support of health care reform is partial. Still, it is essential to note that the current reform is a matter of severe debate in Florida. It can be explained by the fact that, according to recent options for reforming the health care system, Obamacare funding will be repealed. It means that the risks of choosing to be uninsured will increase because some people may simply re-allocate their financial resources and ignore the necessity of health insurance plans (Rohrer, 2016).
The potential impact of health care reform on practice
If the provisions regarding health care reform mentioned above are supported by the state, the rate of those uninsured is likely to be skyrocketing. Such a change in the state may be considered as a negative development, especially from the perspective of nursing practice. The rationale for making this statement is the belief that more people will not have access to adequate professional care. For this reason, the overall health outcomes are most likely to drop. Except for health-related challenges, nurses will be forced to become familiar with new provisions of the legislation. Even though this change in practice is not as critical as the overall decrease in the uninsured rate and impaired health outcomes, it is still significant.
References
Florida health insurance. (2017).
Florida health plans. (2017).
Rohrer, G. (2016). Trump could bid changes to Florida in health care, immigration, economy, more.