Editorials Examine Efforts To Overhaul Health Care in Florida, New Jersey

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday published two editorials examining efforts to overhaul health care in Florida and New Jersey. Summaries appear below.

• Florida: Gov. Charlie Crist's (R) observation that state regulations increase the cost of health insurance premiums "qualifies as a revelation in the policy world of health insurance," according to a Journal editorial. Crist's "Cover Florida" program, an "innovative reform" that was signed into law last week, allows insurers to market "stripped-down, no-frills policies" that are exempt from more than 50 state mandates and will be designed to cost as little as $150 per month or less. The editorial states that the proposal "renounces" Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's (Ill.) "favored remedy" by "nudg[ing] the government out of the health care marketplace." According to the Journal, critics of the plan "are already saying that, without mandates, the plan won't guarantee quality of care." However, the editorial states that "mandates are the product of special-interest lobbying," and "[g]iven the choice, consumers might choose policies that cover some services but not others." The editorial concludes that while bare-bones policies are "not a cure-all, they're movement in the right direction -- especially as states can't do anything about the continuing tax bias for employer-provided health insurance," adding, "That kind of much-needed change can only come from Washington, as [presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.)] is proposing" (Wall Street Journal [1], 5/29).
  
  
• New Jersey: New Jersey -- where legislators will soon consider a proposal that would allow residents to purchase health insurance through any registered policy nationwide -- is a "perfect test case" in deciding which strategies to use in overhauling the nation's health care system, a Journal editorial states. This week, state Assembly member Jay Webber (R) will introduce legislation that would allow state residents to purchase health insurance across state lines, a plan that McCain has endorsed, according to the Journal. The proposal mirrors Rep. John Shadegg's (R-Ariz.) federal proposal. According to the editorial, New Jersey's "politicians have driven up these costs by forcing insurers to provide gold-plated coverage" through state mandates. The average cost for a family health insurance plan in New Jersey is $10,398, compared with the national average of $5,799. In addition, the state also requires so-called "guaranteed issue," which "allows New Jersey residents to avoid buying health insurance until they get sick, which means they can avoid paying premiums until they need someone to pick up the bill," the editorial states. Because of "this one-policy-fits-all system," young, healthy state residents do not have coverage, which "in turn makes coverage unaffordable for ever more families," according to the Journal. The editorial continues, "It's no accident that about 1.2 million people -- one of every eight residents -- is uninsured in" New Jersey. Critics of the Webber proposal say "families would be pushed into bare-bones health plans." The editorial notes that New Jersey Democrats "are rallying behind a plan" that would require every uninsured state resident to purchase insurance from a state-administered program, which "mandates public coverage and no choice, while putting a new burden on taxpayers." According to the editorial, the competing proposals represent a "microcosm" of the "national debate on health care." The editorial concludes, "This is the kind of debate the country should have this election year" (Wall Street Journal [2], 5/29).