Still no answers from DeSantis administration on KidCare disenrollments, challenges

The administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis is still not giving firm answers on when — or whether — it intends to expand a safety-net healthcare program for low-income children that the Florida Legislature has approved.

A bipartisan pair of state senators pushed a top official with the Agency for Health Care Administration Friday for answers on an two-year legal tussle between the governor’s office and the federal government over providing healthcare access to children in lower-income households.

At the heart of the debate is a requirement that children who qualify for Medicaid-funded healthcare remain continuously eligible for one year, including the children’s health insurance program, dubbed Florida KidCare. 

The delay in expanding eligibility started when Democrat Joe Biden was in office but has continued during the Trump administration, with Florida filing a new lawsuit, at least its third, earlier this year in the dispute.

“What are you doing?” asked Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman. “What is AHCA doing to resolve this issue?”

Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican, noted “it has been more than three years” since the Legislature first signed off on expanding KidCare eligibility.

The issue came up during a meeting of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, which approves mid-fiscal year budget amendments, because AHCA was asking to shift money around to conform the Florida KidCare program with current spending estimates.

But one top AHCA official, citing ongoing litigation, was unable to say when he expected the case to be resolved and when income eligibility for the program would expand per the law. Families must earn 200% of the federal poverty level to qualify, $66,000 annually for a family of four in 2026.

Championed by former Republican House Speaker Paul Renner, the law expanded income eligibility to children living in families that earn 300% of the federal poverty level, or $99,000 for a family of four. 

Several Democrats on the panel voted against the budget amendment being sought by AHCA.

“There’s too much uncertainty regarding what we are doing,” Berman said. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”

What’s going on

The DeSantis administration has filed at least three lawsuits against  the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, one which still is being litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Pensacola. 

“We’re working through that process as much as we can and working with the attorneys to resolve this case,” Jon Manalo, deputy secretary for AHCA, told members of the panel when asked about the litigation.

Another AHCA official was unable to answer Berman’s questions about whether the state is still removing children from the KidCare program for failing to pay monthly premiums — the issue at the center of the dispute between the state and federal government.

Top AHCA officials have been unable to publicly answer legislators’ questions about the number of children disenrolled during the legal dispute or, when they have answered questions, provided misleading or inaccurate information.

When senators asked in October 2025 how many children the state removed from KidCare for failing to pay premiums, Brian Meyer, who headed Medicaid at the time, said he didn’t know. 

The Florida Healthy Kids Corp. (which helps administer Florida KidCare) subsequently told the Phoenix that more than 17,000 children were disenrolled for failing to pay premiums. But that information was incorrect. The state removed more than 43,000 children over 12 months for that reason.

Meyer testified before the Senate six month later that he had been having conversations with CMS and that the state was “actively trying to get to an agreeable place between both parties so we can move this program.” 

The Phoenix reported last month that Crestview Republican Don Gaetz recommended Florida’s next governor take a close at the dispute and consider dropping the lawsuit.