Florida House Approves Bill That Would Allow Insurers To Sell ‘Bare-Bones’ Health Plans

The Florida House on March 19 voted 113-2 to pass a "controversial" bill (HB 913), sponsored by state Rep. Frank Farkas (R), that would allow health insurers to sell low-cost, decreased-service plans to small businesses, but only after Farkas "removed almost every item people found offensive," the St. Petersburg Times reports (Kumar, St. Petersburg Times, 3/20). The state House, responding to concerns from patient advocates, providers and other Florida lawmakers, approved an amendment requiring the plans to cover 26 medical services. Under the original bill, health insurers would have been permitted to offer plans exempt from state laws requiring plans to cover 51 benefit areas (Kumar/Krueger, St. Petersburg Times, 3/19). The amendment also increased the limit on health coverage under the legislation to $25,000 per year and $500,000 for life. The original bill would have capped annual coverage at $10,000 (St. Petersburg Times, 3/20).

Controversial Bill
Farkas had proposed the legislation as a way to reduce the 1.3 million uninsured Florida residents who are employed at companies with fewer than 50 employees, which often cannot afford to purchase health insurance for employees. But groups such as the Florida Hospital Association had raised concerns that if the bill became law, some companies that provide health insurance for employees would "dump their more comprehensive, costly coverage for a bare-bones policy" (Kumar/Krueger, St. Petersburg Times, 3/19). Further, some patient advocates and consumer groups had called the bare-bones plans "dangerous," saying they "would lack sufficient safeguards to keep people from being defrauded." Florida mandates health plans cover certain benefits areas to protect consumers from fraud (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 3/8). To respond to those concerns, Farkas introduced the amendment, which would require the low-cost plans to cover services such as mammograms and treatments for HIV-related diseases and cleft palate (St. Petersburg Times, 3/19). Opponents of the original bill "appeared satisfied" with the amended version (St. Petersburg Times, 3/20).

Pilot Program Advances
Meanwhile, the Florida Senate this week will debate a separate bill (HB 111), passed by the House last week, that would create a pilot program under which employers could purchase the stripped-down plans for their employees (St. Petersburg Times, 3/19). Under the bill, private insurers, local governments, social service organizations and churches in Broward and Miami-Dade counties and an area in the Panhandle would be permitted to sell the low-cost health plans (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 3/8).