Crist's plan on health care is decent start
15 04 08 - 11:54
By the Times Editorial Board
Published Monday, April 14, 2008 6:32 PM
The news is mostly grim when it comes to access to health coverage in Florida. This state has the nation's third-highest uninsured rate in the nation, with more than 3.8-million Floridians lacking health insurance. Deep spending cuts in Medicaid loom just ahead. About the only bright spot is Gov. Charlie Crist's modest effort to create affordable basic policies aimed at working-class Floridians, which would offer incremental progress until there is the will and the means for universal coverage.
The governor's proposal is not new or particularly bold, but it would be a significant step in the right direction. It calls for the state to negotiate with insurers to provide stripped-down health insurance policies for premiums that Crist expects to be roughly $150 a month or less. To be eligible for coverage, Floridians would have to be uninsured for at least six months and make no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or $63,600 for a family of four. There would be no cost to the state, but the state would negotiate with insurers and approve the plans.
Of course, there is a risk that these bare-bones plans could offer a false sense of security. They would not include many of the mandates required of conventional health policies. Coverage would be generally limited to preventive health services, office visits and surgery. Catastrophic coverage for hospital stays, emergency care and outpatient surgery could be added for an additional cost. But as the governor points out, "it sure is a lot better than nothing.''
Whether private insurers will step up is far from certain. But Crist says he is encouraged by preliminary negotiations, and he points to the success of his initiative to provide access to discount prescription drugs as evidence that using the state's negotiating skills to help the same population can work. More than 32,000 Floridians have signed up for the drug coverage (www.
Floridadiscountdrugcard.com).
But in a Legislature busy cutting spending and access to health care, even the governor's modest approach is having trouble getting traction. The Senate is expected to approve legislation that includes Crist's health insurance proposal (SB 2534) this week. The House is dragging its feet while exploring an alternative plan that both creates more state bureaucracy and tilts more toward the insurance industry than to individual Floridians seeking health coverage. It appears to be a thinly disguised effort to prevent Crist from gaining credit for helping the uninsured than an evenhanded attempt to tackle the problem.
The real answer to the health care crisis is universal coverage on a national scale. If a Democrat is elected president in November, that issue is likely to rise to the forefront next year. For now, though, Florida's Republican governor offers a reasonable approach to providing some basic affordable coverage for working class Floridians who should not have to keep waiting for the ultimate solution. After the Senate passes its bill, the House should approve it and send it to Crist to be signed into law.