A Florida Senate bill that would permanently shorten how long patients can have Medicaid cover past healthcare bills narrowly cleared its first state Senate committee hearing Monday, advancing an estimated $104 million policy that could affect about 11,500 Floridians’ care. SB 192, which passed 6-4 in the Senate Health Policy committee on party lines, would cement a policy that restricts the period patients are eligible for Medicaid coverage to the calendar month before their application. The prior policy, which the Legislature changed last year, allowed patients to have the safety net program cover healthcare costs up to three months before the date they applied for coverage. Though the Legislature voted to shorten the retroactive window last March, the policy went into effect last month after the federal government approved the change in November. The policy requires the Legislature to approve the change again for it to remain in effect past June 30.
Opponents of the policy change have said it disproportionately hurts the poor, people with disabilities and seniors, particularly those in nursing homes who rely on Medicaid to help cover the cost of their long-term care. They have also argued that limiting the potential coverage period to the start of a calendar month means those who become eligible later in a month have less time to submit necessary paperwork. Nursing homes are also opposing the bill, saying that changing treatment plans and the shortened window for applying toward the end of a month make it more difficult to submit the paperwork in time. The bill does not yet have a House companion. It must pass two more committees before it can be taken up by the full Senate.
