Florida Under Fire After Kicking 1.8 Million People Off Medicaid

A trial begins Thursday in Florida as the state faces accusations that it illegally kicked off residents from Medicaid.

Medicaid patients filed a federal class action lawsuit against the state accusing the government of violating their constitutional rights to due process and a fair hearing under the Medicaid Act. The residents claim that Florida violated these rights when notifying them they were ineligible because of their incomes going beyond Florida's Medicaid requirements.

In total, at least 1.8 million Floridians have been removed from Medicaid, with a significant portion deemed ineligible for exceeding the income limits.

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The case centers around three children and two adults who claim the notices they received from the state didn't explain why they were getting booted from Medicaid. They also say they didn't get an adequate opportunity to prove they were still eligible before losing their health coverage.

"At the heart of this case are a large number of those who live in Florida and at one point qualified for Medicaid, but saw their benefits dropped with allegedly little to no explanation as to why," Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek. "Those taking the state to court claim not only were the notifications they received inadequate, but they failed to let them respond and prove they were still eligible."

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The judge in the Florida case has been asked to reinstate Medicaid patients who allegedly illegally lost their health insurance in the state after the unwinding process went into effect last year.

Federally, the government kept continuous coverage for Medicaid recipients during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, starting in March of last year, the rule was reversed and patients had to once again prove their eligibility to receive the government-backed health care.

Medicaid notices have long been a source of frustration as beneficiaries often find them challenging to understand, and they are not always sent on time or have resources available for recipients who need help reapplying for their benefits.

Newsweek reached out to Florida's statewide Medicaid Managed Care office for comment.

The state previously said it uses "uniform language" in its Medicaid termination notices and has denied the accusations by plaintiffs. If the case is ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients could find their health coverage reinstated.

Historically, Florida has been one of the toughest states for residents to qualify for Medicaid. While other states have worked to expand their programs, Republican-led Florida has kept tight control over who is eligible. That changed during the pandemic because of the federal continuous coverage rules, and the state saw its Medicaid population grow from 3.8 million to 5.5 million.

The majority of the 1.8 million who lost coverage during the unwinding process did so because of procedural reasons, like missing a deadline or changing addresses, and many may still qualify for Medicaid. Still, health research firm KFF estimates that 650,000 lost Medicaid in Florida because they were deemed ineligible.

This is the first case brought against a state agency since unwinding went into effect, and its impact could be felt nationally.

"A ruling in these individuals' favor could have sweeping effects, especially if cases like this come to other states," Beene said. "It would mean the state would have to provide more time and process to those losing Medicaid benefits and give them the opportunity to state their case. Similar measures could spread to other government programs."