Medicaid decision leaves gaps

Source: The Ledger, Lakeland, Fla.迷你倉Oct. 27--BARTOW -- When Florida lawmakers refused to expand Medicaid this year, more than 1 million Floridians were left unable to get Medicaid or subsidies for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.These are people whose income is below 100 percent of the federal guidelines defining poverty, but who don't meet state criteria for Medicaid.Typically, they're childless and able-bodied.Many of them work.They can't get subsidies to buy insurance on the federally facilitated marketplace, in large part because Congress thought states would expand Medicaid with additional federal dollars the law authorized.Polk residents eligible for the Polk HealthCare Plan won't be eligible for Medicaid or subsidies for that reason, said Joy Johnson, interim director of the Polk County Indigent Health Care Division.For Polk County residents in this limbo, medical care will come as it always has: through charity care, free clinics, emergency rooms or the Polk HealthCare Plan.The Polk HealthCare Plan, funded through the county's indigent-care sales tax, lets some people under 100 percent of poverty and ineligible for Medicaid get care from private doctors who take the plan's reduced rates. Polk hospitals take its rates, too.Doctors at Lakeland Regional Medical Center's Family Health Center treat some Polk HealthCare Plan patients in addition to uninsured patients referred from its emergency department.Polk County gives some indigent-care sales tax dollars to free medical clinics in Lakeland, Winter Haven, Eloise, Lake Wales and Haines City in a partnership to increase the number of people getting some assistance.The free clinics treat people at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty limit, giving them a broader reach than the Polk HealthCare Plan.The main numbers for the county's indigent health care division are 1-863-534-5387 and 1-863-儲存33-1111.The free clinics are:Angels Care Center of Eloise, 1020 Snively Ave., 863-875-5595.Lake Wales Free Clinic, 210 Dr. J.A. Wiltshire Ave E., 863-676-1222.Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine, 1021 Lakeland Hills Blvd., 863-688-5846.Parkview Medical Clinic, 1205 Dr. Martin Luther King Way, Haines City, 863-353-6853.The Haley Center, 122 W. Central Ave., Winter Haven, 299-6562.These clinics typically aren't open full time.Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine, the largest, periodically has stopped accepting new patients because it reached the limit it could handle.There are some other options as well.Central Florida Health Care has clinics in Frostproof, Dundee, Lakeland, Winter Haven and Lake Wales.It treats some Polk HealthCare Plan patients but, for those who aren't in the plan, has payments on a sliding scale based on income.There is a minimum fee of $25, although the center says no one is denied medical care because of income.Addresses and phone numbers for clinics doing medical care are 916 State Road 542 in Dundee, 863-419-3330; 109 W. Wall St. in Frostproof, 863-635-4891; 936 E. Parker St. in Lakeland, 863-413-8600; and 1514 First St. N. in Winter Haven, 863-292-4280.Peace River Center, a mental health treatment program, has a primary care wellness clinic in Lakeland. It's open to Polk residents whose family income doesn't exceed 200 percent of poverty. Call 863-519-0930.The Florida Department of Health in Polk County has expanded the primary care available at its Lakeland, Auburndale and Haines City units. Auburndale's number is 863-965-5400. Haines City's is 863-421-3204 and Lakeland's is 863-413-2620.Some mental health treatment is available at the Lakeland site, said public information specialist Pamela Crain.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.) Visit The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.) at .theledger.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage