Millions of Americans are experiencing a “coverage gap” between the Affordable Care Act and other available forms of insurance coverage.
Nearly 4 million Americans and 800,000 Floridians live in this limbo of patchwork health care: They are not eligible for Medicaid; they don’t make enough money to afford ACA coverage. Florida, like many states that recently elected (or reelected) Republican governors, has decided not to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act.
As a result, many low-income Americans with chronic illnesses are bracing to make it work for the next four years — or simply through the day. They swap prescriptions for CVS bargains. They rely on family remedies: whiskey for a sore throat, tea leaves for asthma. They tumble into debt when an ailment demands medical attention.
