Florida's legislature just approved a "no frills" health care plan free of the state's 50 mandates which is estimated to cost people $150 a month. The plan which will be introduced next year provides for primary care and catastrophic coverage for major illnesses. In Washington, similar legislation was tubed for various reasons.
Florida has 21 percent of its population uninsured--some 3.8 million people. According to Gov. Charlie Crist (R) the reason is health insurance is too expensive.
Crist says government rules are imposed without regard to how much they cost and who will bear the burden. In practice, Crist believes, the costs are disproportionately carried by lower-and-middle income workers who already have more limited insurance coverage as part of their compensation. Most small businesses who struggle to provide health insurance coverage for the people they employ experience the very same problem as they deal with annual insurance premium increases.
"When prices rise because of mandates, the less affluent are often forced to make an all-or-nothing choice between Cadillac coverage, which involved just about everything or no insurance at all."
Thirteen states currently offer bare-bones policies. According to the Wall Street Journal editorial today that while these plans are not a cure-all, they're a movement in the right direction.
Don C. Brunell, President (DonB@awb.org)
