{"id":358188,"date":"2026-07-30T23:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T23:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/358188\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T23:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T23:18:10","slug":"florida-judge-rejects-kidcare-expansion-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/358188\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida judge rejects KidCare expansion order"},"content":{"rendered":"

LUTZ, Fla. \u2014 A state judge has refused to order Florida healthcare officials to implement a 2023 law that would expand eligibility for Florida KidCare<\/a>, a program that provides subsidized health insurance for children.<\/p>\n

BELOW: Read the judge’s ruling (PDF)<\/p>\n

The decision comes after a lawsuit filed earlier this year sought to force the state to comply with the expansion. Instead, the judge ruled the plaintiffs must pursue their claim through a state administrative court.<\/p>\n

For families waiting on the expansion, the ruling means continued uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Natasha Dones, a school teacher and single mother, says the expansion would make a significant difference for her family.<\/p>\n

Her 6-year-old daughter, Hailey, is preparing to start first grade.<\/p>\n

“She loves reading. She loves doing math. She’s a happy girl,” Dones said.<\/p>\n

In addition to teaching, Dones works a second job to help pay the bills. Even with the extra income, she says covering basic expenses is a constant challenge.<\/p>\n

“It’s nerve-wracking because I have this bill to pay or the rent. I cannot be short on certain things,” she said.<\/p>\n

Dones says she cannot afford health insurance coverage for her daughter and has been paying for medical care out of pocket.<\/p>\n

Florida KidCare is designed for children whose families earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid programs. Coverage is income-based, with many families paying nothing or as little as $15 to $20 per month.<\/p>\n

Dones applied for the program but was denied because her household income exceeds 200% of the federal poverty line, which is just under $55,000 for a three-person household.<\/p>\n

A 2023 amendment to Florida law would expand eligibility to families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty line.<\/p>\n

However, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration stated it cannot implement the expansion until it resolves a lawsuit with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding certain aspects of the expansion.<\/p>\n

“It’s frustrating because I was so close where I could have qualified,” Dones said.<\/p>\n

Katie Roders Turner, executive director of the Family Healthcare Foundation<\/a>, said affordable health coverage is critical for families.<\/p>\n

“Access to affordable coverage is incredibly important for families and for children,” Turner said.<\/p>\n

She added that many families are struggling with the cost of adding dependents or spouses to employer-sponsored health plans.<\/p>\n

“We are seeing a lot of families face that \u2014 the cost to add dependents or spouses. It causes them to have to make really challenging decisions,” Turner said.<\/p>\n

Dones says private insurance and coverage through her employer remain too expensive, leaving her to pay for her daughter’s medical care herself.<\/p>\n

“Not only save as far as not having to pay so much out of pocket, but I won’t have to be nervous as to where would the money come from if I don’t have enough,” she said.<\/p>\n

For now, Dones says she continues to save what she can for doctor visits and hopes her daughter avoids a medical emergency.<\/p>\n

Following the judge’s decision, Florida Health Justice, which filed the lawsuit against the state healthcare agency earlier this year, issued a statement expressing disappointment.<\/p>\n

“We, and our clients, are disappointed by this decision,” the statement said. “We continue to believe AHCA and Florida Health Kids Corporation have a duty to implement laws passed by the Florida Legislature, and that they have no legally valid reason to block a law that the state’s legislative branch and the federal government have both approved.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LUTZ, Fla. \u2014 A state judge has refused to order Florida healthcare officials to implement a 2023 law…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3140,28,30,29,4029,115,139,99,135,835],"class_list":["post-358188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-app-local-state-politics","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-jeff-van-sant","tag-news","tag-orlando","tag-politics","tag-tampa","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}