Florida Cancer Connect’s Cancer Care Locator helps residents find health care facilities, including hospitals and cancer treatment centers. Additional providers are added regularly.

When facing a cancer diagnosis, understanding and navigating the health care system can be challenging in an already stressful time. The Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) offers a health insurance consumer guide that may help answer your insurance-related questions.

Although the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is responsible for licensing and regulating insurance companies, DFS also handles consumer-related matters.

If you are a Florida Medicaid member experiencing challenges with your managed care plan, contact the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration or call 877-254-1055 (TDD 866-467-4970).

It is important for adults and children with cancer to maintain continuous health insurance coverage that includes necessary cancer treatments. Here is what caregivers need to know about health insurance:

• Know the details of your loved one’s individual insurance plan and its coverage. Ask the plan administrator for a Summary of Benefits (SBC).
• When possible, call the insurer to make sure planned medical services such as surgery, procedures or treatments do not require prior authorization.
• If you are changing insurance plans, do not let your policy lapse until the new one becomes effective. This includes switching to Medicare.
• Pay health insurance premiums and other costs in full and on time to avoid any gap in coverage.

Additional things to know about health insurance:

• If a bill looks odd or wrong, call or email the insurer to avoid being mistakenly overcharged.
• Submit claims for all medical expenses, even when you are unsure they are covered.
• Keep complete and accurate records of all claims submitted, pending, and paid.
• Keep copies of all claims-related paperwork, such as letters of medical necessity, explanations of benefits, bills, receipts, requests for sick leave, or family medical leave and correspondence with insurance companies.
• Get a caseworker, hospital financial counselor, or social worker to help if your finances are limited. 
• If you let them know about your situation, companies and hospitals can work with you to make special payment arrangements.

Post Screening Medicaid Eligibility

The Florida Department of Health’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program promotes early detection and treatment of cancer by encouraging all women to receive regular screenings. If you do not have access to a health care provider, you may be able to receive free or low-cost screenings. Florida Medicaid supports the care of most women diagnosed under this program.

In 2001, the state of Florida established a Medicaid eligibility determination process to enroll women with newly diagnosed breast or cervical cancer.

Women may be eligible if they are:

• Screened through the Florida Department of Health’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program
• Uninsured or coverage that doesn’t include necessary treatments
• Not eligible under a federally mandated Medicaid group
• 65 years old or younger

Given that individuals must first meet the qualifications for the screening program, nearly all women who apply will qualify. In rare cases, women ineligible for Florida Medicaid may be referred to the American Cancer Society for charity care, if available. If eligible, women will receive full Medicaid benefits rather than those being treated for cancer.

Florida Medicaid eligibility ends when:

• Course of treatment ends
• Patient no longer meets the eligibility criteria
• Patient obtains health insurance or Medicare that covers treatment 
• Patient moves out of the state of Florida