Unless you're uninsured ...
Oh,
Florida.
The Florida Department of Health has become the latest arm of state government to distance itself from the federal Affordable Care Act. It has ordered county health units not to allow outreach workers called Navigators onto their property to help uninsured people sign up for subsidized health coverage.
The order from C. Meade Grigg, deputy DOH secretary for statewide services, went out late Monday to the 60 local health department directors around the state. He wrote that the staff may accept informational materials from the Navigators to hand out upon request.
“However, Navigators will not conduct activities on the grounds of the health departments,” Grigg wrote. He said the policy was developed after some had asked DOH for permission to operate within state facilities, presumably because uninsured people often seek treatment there.
So much for the
mission statement of the Florida Department of Health to "protect, promote & improve the health of all people in Florida," and its vision statement to "be the Healthiest State in the Nation." Apparently they don't serve "all" people in Florida, just the ones who already have insurance.
There are 3.8 million people in Florida without health insurance.
Please sign our petition telling Florida Department of Health officials to allow health care Navigators on state owned health facilities to discuss the Affordable Care Act.