TITLE
RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO ENACT SB 248, HB 89 OR SIMILAR LEGISLATION THAT WOULD ELIMINATE THE FIVE-YEAR WAITING PERIOD FOR LAWFULLY RESIDING IMMIGRANT CHILDREN TO BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR THE FLORIDA KIDCARE PROGRAM [SEE ORIGINAL ITEM UNDER FILE NO. 152849]

BODY
WHEREAS, the Florida KidCare Program is a federally subsidized children�s health insurance program that provides subsidized health insurance to uninsured children who have family incomes under 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) and meet other eligibility criteria; and
WHEREAS, Florida Kidcare provides affordable health insurance and access to healthcare for children of families with lower incomes; and
WHEREAS, in Florida, children who are not citizens or �qualified aliens� are not eligible for the KidCare program until they have legally resided in the country for five years; and
WHEREAS, the Children�s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), provides states with the option of extending health coverage in programs like KidCare to immigrant children lawfully residing in the United States without requiring the five-year waiting period; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill (SB) 248 has been filed for consideration during the 2016 session of the Florida Legislature by Senator Rene Garcia (R-Hialeah); and
WHEREAS, companion House Bill (HB) 89 has been filed for consideration during the 2016 session of the Florida Legislature by Representative Jose Felix Diaz (R-Miami); and
WHEREAS, SB 248 and HB 89 would eliminate the five-year waiting period for lawfully residing immigrant children to become eligible for the Florida KidCare Program; and
WHEREAS, the Agency for Health Care Administration for the State of Florida estimates that approximately 17,000 Floridian children will be eligible for the Florida KidCare Program if the five-year waiting period is eliminated; and
WHEREAS, emergency medical assistance for state Fiscal Year 2015 for uninsured children in Florida totaled over $7 million in expenditures; and
WHEREAS, the State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (�AHCA�) estimates that eliminating the five-year waiting would have an overall positive fiscal impact because low-income legally residing children would be more likely to receive preventative care and less likely to use emergency medical assistance and expensive hospital rooms; and
WHEREAS, CHIPRA allows states to claim an enhanced federal match rate of 95.83 percent for Children�s Health Insurance Program Coverage and Medicaid children and is projected by AHCA to result in an increase of $1,336,537 in general revenue, $30,714,717 in federal funding and $298,811 in family premiums; and
WHEREAS, according to AHCA, the increase in revenue, federal funding and family premiums would offset the $7,790,967 spent on emergency medical assistance for uninsured Floridian children in Fiscal Year 2015; and
WHEREAS, because it promotes healthier children and families in Florida, this Board supports SB 248, HB 89 or similar legislation that would eliminate the five-year waiting period for lawfully residing immigrant children to become eligible for the Florida KidCare Program,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the Florida Legislature to enact SB 248, HB 89 or similar legislation that would eliminate the five-year waiting period for lawfully residing immigrant children to become eligible for the Florida Kidcare Program.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the Governor, Senate President, House Speaker, Senator Rene Garcia, Representative Jose Felix Diaz and the remaining Members of the Miami-Dade County State Legislative Delegation.
Section 3. Directs the County�s state lobbyists to advocate for the passage of the legislation set forth in Section 1 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to amend the 2016 State Legislative Package to include this item.