A move from NYC to Miami, a loss of coverage
.JPG "Harry Melo, 28, an FIU graduate student from New York.")
For two years, Florida legislators have refused to expand Medicaid as envisioned under the Affordable Care Act. Their decision left an estimated 850,000 Floridians without healthcare insurance in the "coverage gap." Here are some of their stories.
Harry Melo moved from Queens in New York City to Miami in January to pursue a graduate degree in higher education administration at Florida International University.
It wasn’t until he arrived in Florida, his car loaded with belongings, that Melo realized he would no longer have health insurance.
In New York, Melo, 28, qualified for Medicaid at no cost to him other than a few dollars for prescriptions. But when the full-time student tried to sign up for Obamacare in January, he learned about the coverage gap for the first time.
“I was like, ‘What do you mean the gap?’ I’m not employed. How am I supposed to pay for it? I was actually heart-broken.”
Melo had just accepted thousands of dollars in student loans, he said, but considered returning to New York. He could have studied for his degree there, avoiding out-of-state tuition and dorm costs while keeping health insurance.
But because he is healthy, he decided to stay, turning to FIU’s student health clinic for routine care, and filing for an exemption in the hope of avoiding the penalty for not having health insurance.
He wonders how many others have moved to Florida and encountered the same roadblock.
“They come here for happiness and a new beginning and then they find out that part of that new beginning is that they might not be insured, and it’s up to them to figure out,” Melo said.
- DANIEL CHANG
Falling into the coverage gap | Back to series homepage
More profiles
▪ “I feel left over, left back.’’ — Paula Bazain, caregiver
▪ “What kind of country are we? Everybody needs insurance” — Francesca Corr, single mother
▪ “I can’t live a normal life.’’ — Genesis Rodriguez, automotive tech student
▪ “Normally, you go to the doctor when something like that happens.’’ — Carlos Cuervo, salesman
▪ “One minute you receive Medicaid, and the next minute it’s gone.’’ — Ceslynn Watkins, former customer service rep
▪ “I knew exactly right away what it was because I’d felt it before. I was having a heart attack.’’ — Eric Schmidt, former construction worker
▪ “It wasn’t the welcome that I wanted from Florida.’’ — Harry Melo, student
▪ “They just tell me I’ve been denied. Every time.” —Timothy Lane, former landscaper
▪ “I wish I had insurance, so I can go to a private doctor.’’ — Cynthia Louis, waiting a year to see a specialist
▪ “It’s totally unfair that when you’re in need of help, you can’t get it.’’ — Vanessa Wilcox, former phlebotomist
▪ “They won’t give me a chance. That’s not right. ... I can go blind.” — Edith G. Camacho, homemaker
▪ “I would benefit more from Medicaid expansion than charity care.’’ — Vincent Adderly, former security guard
This story was originally published April 17, 2015 at 1:00 PM with the headline "A move from NYC to Miami, a loss of coverage."