Health Care

3 trends in Miami healthcare: dental help, vaccine mandates, medical coverage

Stories by Miami Herald journalists, with AI summarization

Recent trends in Miami's healthcare include dental outreach care, vaccine mandates and health insurance coverage.

In Florida, Medicaid expansion remains contested as Congress debates ACA subsidies.

Vaccine mandates face rollback attempts, creating tension between public health goals and personal choice.

And community collaboration offers new access points for dental health. Opa-locka clinic initiatives provide free dental services through a mobile unit.

Catch up with our recent health coverage below.

Lily Lopez, a dental assistant with Caring for Miami, fills out paperwork inside the Mobile Dental Clinic in Opa-locka. Caring for Miami is providing free dental care for uninsured and underserved residents. By Photo by Matias J. Ocner

NO. 1: AT AN OPA-LOCKA CLINIC, MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN GROUPS PARTNER TO OFFER FREE DENTAL CARE

For the first time since it opened in 2008, patients at an Opa-locka healthcare clinic will be able to receive consistent dental care — from cleanings to cancer screenings and root canals — and it’s not going to cost them a penny. | Published September 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Lauren Costantino

A 14-year-old gets his first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shot from Nurse Erica Goodin at the South Miami Children’s Clinic on May 15 last year. About 14,3411,629 eligible Floridians — 67.1% of the state’s population — have completed the two-dose series of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or have completed Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, according to the CDC. By Pedro Portal

NO. 2: FLORIDA PUSHES TO END VACCINE MANDATES. WHAT DOCTORS SAY PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

For years, Florida has required students to get vaccinated against measles, polio and other highly contagious diseases to attend school. | Published September 4, 2025 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante

A general view of the Florida Capitol on Monday, March 3, 2025, in Tallahassee, Fla. By Photo by Matias J. Ocner

NO. 3: WHEN OBAMACARE TAX CREDITS EXPIRE, DON’T EXPECT MEDICAID TO FILL THE GAP IN FLORIDA

As Congress fights over the future of Affordable Care Act subsidies, the healthcare of millions of Floridians is on the line. | Published October 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Romy Ellenbogen

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.