Florida Senate Passes Gov. Crist's Plan To Expand Health Coverage To Uninsured Residents

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 21 Apr 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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The Florida Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a plan proposed by Gov. Charlie Crist (R) that aims to reduce the ranks of the state's 3.7 million uninsured residents, the Miami Herald reports (Caputo, Miami Herald, 4/17). The proposal would remove mandates that require insurance plans to include coverage of up to 50 services, which would allow insurers to offer stripped-down plans with premiums as low as $150 a month. Under the proposal, two tiers of coverage for catastrophic and noncatastrophic illnesses would be available for residents who were uninsured for the previous six months (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 4/10).

The state House is looking to pass a broader measure that would establish a public-private administrator to handle coverage for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. The administrator would be similar to the state's HealthyKids, which runs KidCare, the state's version of SCHIP. Details of the Senate and House bills have not been finalized (Miami Herald, 4/17).

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