Editorials

Discussion about improving the nation's health care system often is heard at the national political level, but actions taken by states likely are the best hope for identifying the top options.

Florida is currently in the health legislation spotlight because of a bill just signed by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist. The legislation allows uninsured Floridians to purchase health insurance plans largely free of expensive, superfluous mandated coverages.

Experts are lauding the new legislation, the Cover Florida Health Access Act, as a positive step toward affordable health insurance and a model program for other states, wrote Jeff Emanuel, a health care policy expert at The Heartland Institute in Health Care News.

All states have laws requiring certain procedures and illnesses be covered by every insurance policy sold within their borders.

Florida currently has the 13th most among the states, with 48 coverage mandates, including hair prosthesis, orthotics and second surgery opinion. It also has one of the highest uninsured rates (21 percent, or roughly 3.8 million people) in the country, something experts say is no coincidence.

"Government regulation drives up the cost of health insurance and is a significant factor in denying health insurance to the working poor," said Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

"If government were to mandate that the only car anyone could own was a Lexus," he explained, "It wouldn't be long before the poor lacked transportation. Sometimes people have to drive a Kia. Kudos to the Florida legislature for belatedly recognizing an economic fact of life."

More praise for the Florida legislation came from Joel White, a senior fellow at the Gaylen Institute who called it an "important step forward" reflecting something many people nationwide know too well. That is, consumers can't afford the "benefits" lawmakers often force on them.

"In many cases the good intentions of lawmakers to 'protect' consumers by mandating benefits they cannot afford or do not want has 'protected' them into the ranks of the uninsured," White said. "The U.S. Congress should take heed of Florida's action and pass legislation that expands consumer choices."

Cover Florida, signed by Crist in June, will allow individuals who qualify to buy "bare bones" insurance policies that cover only the treatment consumers want to pay for instead of the treatments and procedures the state has declared mandatory in the past.

The legislation is expected to save eligible Florida residents hundreds of dollars in premiums while reducing the number of uninsured in the state.

"Florida's new insurance law is a giant step toward affordable health insurance that serves as a model for other states," declared Stephen J. Entin, president of the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation.

The measure will allow consumers who have been without insurance at least six months to buy policies that meet their personal requirements, free of mandates formerly required by legislation favoring special interest requests.

Giving consumers a choice on coverage they want and want to pay for will increase competition and make insurance more affordable for increasing numbers of people. It could be a significant lead in the right direction.

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