Crist Signs Law Helping Make Florida Health Insurance more Affordable

May 31, 2008

Crist signs bill aimed at making health insurance affordable

By JIM SAUNDERS and ANNE GEGGIS
Staff Writers

TALLAHASSEE -- Some employees of Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Harley-Davidson are losing a lifeline.

Like millions of people across Florida and the nation, they face the possibility of going without health insurance because soaring costs caused the motorcycle dealership to cut benefits, effective Sunday.

"What happened with the insurance is that it became astronomical in the (price) requote," company official Julie Maenza said. "They (employees) are much better going out on their own instead of coming under our group."

The number of workers who will lose company-backed coverage is a matter of debate. The company says the changes will affect a handful of people in one store, while employees say it will hit at least 100 working in Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach.

Regardless, the employees are now part of what has become one of the biggest issues in Florida.

Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill this month that he argues will take a huge step toward making health insurance in Florida more affordable and available. The plan, in part, is aimed at helping uninsured people buy stripped-down policies for $150 a month or less to cover basic health needs.

"This is a giant step for health care," Senate sponsor Durell Peaden, R-Crestview, said during a bill-signing ceremony. "It's a giant step for the people of Florida."

But while Crist and his supporters have touted the plan, others say questions remain about how it will work.

Insurers are waiting to see guidelines that will play an important role in determining the types of policies they might sell and whether they will even participate.

Part of the challenge is meeting Crist's $150-a-month vow, while also providing enough benefits.

"I think we all agree that something has to be done," said Pam Mims, an administrator with the Holly Hill-based Florida Health Care Plan Inc. "But I don't know if this is the fix for it."

At least one major insurer, Humana, said it likely will not take part in the program, though it wants more details before making a final decision.

But business groups hope the bill, which also includes a new program targeted at small businesses, will help deal with an issue that has led to painful decisions for employers faced with spiraling insurance costs.

"We see this legislation as a significant benefit, especially to the small-business community," said Jim Cameron, a vice president of The Chamber, Daytona Beach/Halifax area.

Florida has one of the highest rates of uninsured in the nation, with more than 3 million residents lacking health coverage. That has wide-ranging ramifications, including people unable to get preventive medical care or relying on crammed emergency rooms when they need to see doctors.

Rep. Dorothy Hukill, a Port Orange Republican who has long worked on proposals to make insurance more affordable to small businesses, said people are struggling to come up with solutions to health costs that far outpace inflation.

"This is such a huge problem," Hukill said. "There doesn't seem to be a magic-bullet answer on the horizon."

Crist seized on the issue this year, pushing lawmakers to pass the bill that calls for offering low-cost coverage to people ages 19 to 64 who have been uninsured for at least six months.

Under Crist's program, people would be able to choose between two types of policies. One would focus heavily on offering preventive care, such as screenings and doctor-office visits, while the other would be more comprehensive and include hospital care.

The program is expected to reduce costs by allowing insurers to offer policies that don't cover dozens of treatments and conditions that are mandated by law in many current health plans.

Also, it would allow insurers to limit services, such as possibly limiting covered hospital days.

But some insurance-industry officials said they're waiting for more details about how the plans might work. The state is supposed to release information by July 1 as part of the process of negotiating with insurers.

While Crist is targeting individuals who are uninsured, another part of the bill focuses on small businesses with one to 50 employees. That part of the bill, which House leaders pushed, will set up a corporation to serve as a sort of clearinghouse for small businesses and employees to buy lightly regulated insurance and other health products.

But questions also remain. Rep. Joyce Cusack, D-DeLand, said she worries that people will buy largely unregulated policies and find out later their medical needs won't be covered.

"I don't think that's going to be good for people," she said.

The employees losing coverage through the local Harley-Davidson dealership, however, have more immediate concerns.

The Ormond Beach wife of one employee was diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks before the company made the announcement. Under a conversion package being shopped to employees, she will have to pay $800 a month with a $1,500 deductible that would cover only her.

That's about $200 a month more than she and her husband paid before the cancellation to cover them both. She's tried to find more-affordable insurance but had no luck.

"No one's going to take me -- I have cancer," said the woman, who didn't want her name used because of concerns her husband could be fired.