Improving Access to Medicaid in Florida | The Public Interest Law Center

Nearly two million children living in poverty in Florida faced serious obstacles getting basic medical and dental care, even though federal Medicaid law requires states to provide prompt and effective treatment services.

State Medicaid programs often fail to pay the doctors and dentists who see low income children enough to make it economically feasible for them to participate. For more than a decade, we litigated to increase access to services for these kids.

In Florida, the problem is particularly severe, so in 2005, the Law Center filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the Florida Pediatric Society and all children — currently numbering 1.9 million — enrolled in, or eligible for, Medicaid in the state. The law firm of Boies, Schiller and Flexner LLP was co-counsel on the case. The case was tried before Judge Adalberto Jordan in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida over the course of two years and closing arguments were held in April 2012. In December 2014, Judge Jordan issued findings in our favor, ruling that the state is not meeting federal requirements in providing preventative medical care. In June 2016, a settlement agreement was approved that provides for state agencies to make substantial improvements so that children enrolled in Medicaid can access medical and dental care throughout the state.