COVID-19: Health Justice Challenges
COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has reached pandemic proportions, presents a dire public health emergency. Florida faces this challenge with significant disadvantages. Our state has failed to expand Medicaid, leaving us with the country’s fourth-highest rate of uninsured (13%). At the same time, Florida has one of the highest proportions of residents 60 and older in the nation (over 25%) and many live at or near poverty. In Miami-Dade County, a COVID-19 hotspot, one in five elders are below the federal poverty level. Further, thousands are on waitlists for home health services, without which they are acutely vulnerable to the present dangers of institutionalization. Additionally, two million state residents live in mixed immigrant families that may be afraid of accessing public healthcare. Florida Health Justice Project is advocating aggressively on behalf of those most at risk.
Publications
Reports, Fact Sheets and Policy Updates
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Other Resources
Know Your Rights
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FEATURED STORYTELLERS
Florida Health Justice Stories - COVID-19
Florida Health Justice Stories - COVID-19
Johana She did what she had to - for her job and for her health. Exposed to Covid-19 as a front-line worker, Johana went to her local public hospital to take a Covid-19 test. She was told the bill would be covered. Instead, the hospital sent the bill to collections. Read more |
Jeffery Jeffery Burney is combating fear with science in his quest to get his community vaccinated for COVID-19. Read more |
Z.B. Z.B. had been recently discharged from the hospital with COVID-19 when the bills started arriving. Altogether, she owes $30,000 in medical bills from the five days she spent tethered to an oxygen tank, struggling to breathe, as she was treated for COVID pneumonia. Read more |
FHJP Voices in the News
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FHJP's Alison Yager and Miriam Harmatz's Op-ed: "Do Florida lawmakers know COVID-19 is a public health emergency? They're not acting like it" Read Article Here |
FHJP's Alison Yager's Letter to the Editor on the Importance of Equitable Vaccine Distribution in Florida Read Article Here |
FHJP's Blanca Mesa featured in WLRN: As DeSantis Lowers Florida Vaccine Age Cap, Health Care Advocates Urge Him To Include Frontline Workers Read Article Here |
FHJP’s Quotes in Miami Herald Article Highlight the Pandemic’s Impact and Needed Action in Face of ACA’s Legal Threat. Read Article Here |
FHJP's Alison Yager Quoted in WLRN Article: Some Who Don't Meet Florida Criteria Get COVID-19 Vaccines At Baptist South Florida. Read Article Here |
New York Times Article Featuring FHJP Board Member, Dr. Fred Anderson: Will We Struggle to Reach Herd Immunity? Read Article Here |
WLRN Article Featuring Alison Yager and FHJP Board Member Dr. Zinzi Bailey: Why Expanding Medicaid Eligibility Could Help Florida Insure More People And Boost COVID-19 Vaccination Rates.
Read Article Here
Read Article Here
Other Helpful Websites
Florida Department of Health
Includes FAQ and cases tracker, updated daily: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/
Kaiser Family Foundation
Coronavirus Resources
National Health Law Program
Coronavirus Resources
Includes FAQ and cases tracker, updated daily: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/
Kaiser Family Foundation
Coronavirus Resources
National Health Law Program
Coronavirus Resources
