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Healthy State tells the stories you need to know to stay well, with a special focus on Florida.We'll bring you the latest fitness trends, new research on preventing and treating disease, and information about how health policy impacts your pocketbook.We report on health using all the tools at our disposal -- video, audio, photos and text -- to bring these stories to life.Healthy State is a project of WUSF Public Media in Tampa and is heard on public radio stations throughout Florida. It also is available online at wusfnews.org.

Rate Of Uninsured Drops To 16.6 Percent In FL

The rate of Floridians without health insurance dropped to 16.6 percent last year.

Figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that represents a drop of 3.4 percentage points from a rate of 20 percent in 2013.

Despite the drop, Florida still had the third highest rate of residents without health insurance. Only Texas and Alaska had higher rates.

The national rate was 10.4 percent.

Officials attribute the decrease in Florida and around the country to passage of the Affordable Care Act, which expanded health insurance to millions of Americans.

The act gave states the option of expanding Medicaid. Some did so, and others like Florida chose not to do so.

Census officials say states that expanded Medicaid had bigger decreases in the uninsured rates than those that didn't.

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