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Florida Obamacare enrollment dips by more than 5%

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The number of Floridians relying on a federal health care exchange established under the Affordable Care Act has dropped by more than 261,000 people after Republicans in Congress let expire the enhanced premium tax credits that help hold down coverage costs.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said 4,474,300 Florida residents used the federal health exchange known as healthcare.gov to procure health insurance for 2026, down from 2025 enrollment of 4,735,415.

Florida Health Justice Project policy director Melanie Williams called the 5.5% drop in coverage a “warning sign for families and for Florida’s economy.”

“When people lose health insurance, they delay care, face higher medical debt, and are more likely to end up in emergency rooms, which drives up costs for everyone. This enrollment dip doesn’t just affect individual households, it puts pressure on hospitals, local governments, and the state budget, and it underscores how fragile access to affordable coverage remains for working families across Florida,” she said in a statement to the Florida Phoenix.

“Florida Health Justice Project will continue to fight for vulnerable Floridians who deserve access to meaningful health coverage,“ Williams added.

Nationwide, nearly 22.8 million consumers had signed up for 2026 coverage, also a dip from 2025 enrollment of 23.6 million.

Despite the decline in 2026 enrollment, Florida still leads the nation in ACA, or Obamacare, enrollment, ahead of Texas, where 4,113,465 people enrolled.

Open enrollment for 2026 health insurance coverage began Nov. 1 and ended Dec. 15 for policies that took effect Jan. 1, 2026. Enrollment continued through Jan. 15 for Feb. 1, 2026 coverage.

The fate of the enhanced premium tax credits has been source of constant speculation and wrangling in Congress.

Florida Voices for Health Executive Director Scott Darius said the dip in Florida Obamacare sign-ups could be even greater than what appears because the new CMS data shows enrollment, which includes returning customers whose coverage was automatically renewed.  CMS will release what’s called “effectuated” data later this year. That will show the number of people who have paid their premiums and have coverage in effect.

“We don’t know how many of them will actually keep the coverage,” Darius said in a statement to the Phoenix. He added: “The numbers also don’t show the people who are feeling the pressure of paying double for the same coverage, the impact of the people who are paying the same for less coverage.”

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Reporting by Christine Sexton. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email protected].



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Marco Rubio eclipses Ron DeSantis in 2028 prediction markets, but JD Vance still far ahead

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Reversal of fortune.

Few people are betting on Gov. Ron DeSantis to be the next Republican presidential nominee, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio continues to drive investor interest.

That’s how things look on aggregator site Polymarket as of Saturday morning.

DeSantis, who ran for President in 2024, has slumped to 3% odds, a reflection of the Donald Trump administration dominating news cycles and offering him no opportunities to present the kind of direct opposition to the White House that Joe Biden afforded him.

Rubio, who himself ran for President in 2016, continues to ascend in the eyes of market participants.

He’s climbed to 19% odds of getting the nomination, second only to Vice President JD Vance’s 54%.

Both Rubio and DeSantis have sidestepped any talk of future presidential ambitions. Rubio has said Vance would be a “great nominee,” with President Donald Trump suggesting Rubio as “somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form.”

Trump, for what it’s worth, is at 4%, good for third place among investors despite being term-limited constitutionally.

DeSantis currently says he’s “not thinking about anything” regarding a 2028 run, and criticized “jockeying” among those who look to succeed Trump. However, he also left the door open to running again after he withdrew from the presidential race last year.



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Casey DeSantis wants to ramp up preventive testing for food toxins

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Florida and other states can do more to test for and root out food contaminants according to First Lady Casey DeSantis.

During an appearance on Fox and Friends Weekend, DeSantis said that testing baby formulae for heavy metals was just the first of many moves in that direction, expressing confidence that other states will join Florida in doing the job that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will not.

“I’m calling around to all the states. I had a great conversation with the First Lady of Oklahoma. I’m like, man, what if we divide and conquer? What if Oklahoma and Georgia and Arkansas and everybody gets together and we start on a state level being force multipliers to the federal MAGA movement and the MAHA movement, then we can try to ensure that there’s some accountability on the front,” DeSantis said Saturday.

Florida’s Department of Health recently tested 24 formulas for contaminants, with 16 of them having at least one heavy metal that exceeded federal standards. Mercury was the most ubiquitous, followed by arsenic, cadmium, and lead.

The reason these adulterants are in food, DeSantis said, is because the federal government isn’t testing for them before they are marketed and sold.

“There really isn’t any preventative testing as it pertains to the foods before they wind up in our food supply. The FDA, they do a lot of postwork, right? If somebody finds a problem, there’s bacteria, salmonella, they’ll go in and investigate, but there are … thousands of products on the market. So to go in and test all of them, they would say is difficult. That’s where the states come in. That’s where we’re leading in the free state of Florida. We want to go out, proactively test baby formula, other things, like baby food or cereals. Get accountability on the front end so that we can encourage companies to find ways to not have any harmful chemicals in our foods.”



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Ron DeSantis, James Uthmeier take illegal immigration fight to cable news

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Florida’s Governor and Attorney General continue to find national audiences for their cases for how Florida fights illegal immigration, presenting the state’s rigorous approach to that in other areas where officials take issue with the Donald Trump administration’s approach.

In the wake of the arrest of Jennifer Cruz, a woman accused of assaulting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and State Troopers  while they conducted their duties at a Jacksonville strip mall, both Ron DeSantis and James Uthmeier uncompromisingly advocated their positions during cable news hits Friday.

“This is not Portland, where you can do this, get slapped on the wrist, then just get put right back on the street to do it again. If you do that, you’re gonna be on the working end of a jail cell. That’s just the way it’s going to work. We’re going to hold you accountable, particularly when you talk about our state troopers who are working with DHS to enforce federal immigration law,” DeSantis told Sean Hannity.

“Here in Florida, we’re not messing around. We don’t tolerate this crap. We’re never going to be Minnesota. We have record crime lows and business formations because we promote public safety first and foremost. If you want to harass and impede a law enforcement investigation, you are going to get arrested and you are going to do serious time. This woman, Jennifer, she’s looking at state and federal charges, and we’re going to make an example here. If you want to get in the way of ICE’s activities, you are going to pay the price. We want them here. We believe in safety. We are going to enforce rule of law,” Uthmeier said on Fox Business.

Uthmeier went on to say he believes many protesters are “paid to be there” to obstruct official acts.



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