Posted on 08/21/2009 7:51:49 AM PDT by longtermmemmory
Message from Governor Charlie Crist
Dear Friends,
During the 2008 legislative session, my administration worked with legislators of both parties to secure unanimous approval of the Cover Florida Health Care Access Program. This legislation makes affordable health coverage available to 3.8 million uninsured Floridians through a comprehensive market-based strategy.
Cover Florida allows insurers to create innovative health insurance products that are affordable and guaranteed to Floridians who have been without insurance for at least six months, or who are recently unemployed – even if there are pre-existing health conditions. The coverage is voluntary for both individuals and for employers, and employees can even take their coverage with them if they change jobs.
Cover Florida gives uninsured Floridians the opportunity to take charge of their own preventive health care. Cover Florida benefit options include a robust set of benefits, such as coverage for preventive services, screenings, and office visits, as well as office surgery, urgent care, prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, and diabetic supplies.
No tax dollars were required to create the Cover Florida health insurance plans. Instead, six private insurance companies have partnered with the State of Florida to offer affordable health insurance coverage. If you have gone without insurance for at least six months – or have recently lost your employer-sponsored insurance – I encourage you to learn more about Cover Florida. It may be exactly the health insurance you have been looking for.
Sincerely,
Charlie Crist
Notice this is not mentioned ANYWHERE by the MSM.
It apparently addresses pre-existing conditions, protability and employer availability.
NOT MANDATED healthcare.
I thought this would be worth throwing into the mix since the MSM is trying to shove socialism only stories upon the American public.
FAQ's next.
Instructive.
FAQs
When will Cover Florida plans be available?
Cover Florida policies will be available to Floridians by January 5, 2009.
Who is eligible for Cover Florida?
Cover Florida plans are available to all applicants age 19 to 64 who have been without health insurance for at least six months, and are not eligible for a public health insurance program such as Medicaid or Medicare.
Are there exceptions to the six-month exclusion?
Yes. If you have had health insurance in the past six months, you can still participate in Cover Florida if you lost coverage due to any of the following reasons:
Loss of a job that provided an employer-sponsored health benefit plan.
Death of, or divorce from, a spouse who was provided an employer-sponsored health benefit plan.
Exhaustion of coverage that was continued under COBRA or continuation-of-coverage requirements under s. 627.6692, Florida Statutes.
Are there any mandates for participation in the Cover Florida plan?
No, the Cover Florida plan is voluntary for both individuals and employers. There are no mandates on individuals or on employers to participate.
Will I be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition?
No, Florida applicants with pre-existing health conditions will not be denied enrollment in a Cover Florida plan. However, Cover Florida plans can exclude payment for treatment of a specific pre-existing condition for one year. After one year, the plan must cover for treatment of pre-existing conditions. During the one-year period, however, you are covered for services that are not related to your pre-existing condition.
How do I enroll in Cover Florida plans?
After Cover Florida plans become available for purchase on January 5, 2009, applicants can purchase plans directly through one of the six authorized Cover Florida providers.
At least two carriers are available in every county. See the “Available Plans” section of the www.CoverFloridaHealthCare.com Web site to learn which plans are available in your area. Interested individuals and employers can learn more by contacting each company directly.
The State of Florida will not be involved in the purchasing process. Each insurance company will have a Web page and a toll-free telephone number where you can learn about available Cover Florida plan benefit options.
What are the rates for Cover Florida plans?
Cover Florida plans can be purchased for as low as $23.70 per month. However, the rates for Cover Florida plans vary depending on the applicant’s age, gender and chosen benefit options. Typically, preventive plans do not cover hospitalization; however, have lower monthly premiums than catastrophic hospitalization benefit plans. See the plan details in the “Available Plans” section of the www.CoverFloridaHealthCare.com Web site to see examples of rates.
Is the state subsidizing any of the premiums for Cover Florida?
No, there are no subsidies for Cover Florida premiums. However, employers may voluntarily share in the cost of the plan with their employees or may assist employees with a payroll deduction, providing a pre-tax benefit for the employee and a payroll tax break for the employer.
Will Cover Florida plans include all of Florida’s mandated benefits?
No, Cover Florida plans will not be required to include all of Florida’s mandated benefits, nor will they be “bare-bones.” Instead of limiting the types of benefits offered, Cover Florida plans contain costs through the quantity of services, such as number of office visits or number of days in the hospital that policyholders may use each year.
All approved insurance plans offer consumers at least two plans, one with catastrophic and hospital coverage, and one without. All Cover Florida plans benefit options include – at a minimum – coverage for preventive services, screenings, office visits, as well as office surgery, urgent care, hospital coverage, emergency care, prescription drugs, durable medical equipment, and diabetic supplies.
Do Cover Florida plans cover diabetic supplies?
Yes, all Cover Florida plans include coverage for diabetic supplies.
Are there coverage options for children under age 19, or for children of policyholders in the existing insurance market?
Yes. The Cover Florida legislation also expands coverage options for children. First, Cover Florida policyholders may also purchase individual plans for their spouses and children. Further, the legislation permits all Florida families to pay full premiums and “buy in” to the Florida Kid Care Program. The legislation also requires all insurance carriers – not just Cover Florida carriers – to offer families the option of keeping children enrolled on the family policy up to age 30, as long as the child is unmarried and does not have any dependents of his or her own.
Are Cover Florida plans portable?
Yes. Cover Florida consumers can take their coverage with them if they change jobs or become unemployed. This portability is possible because Cover Florida plans are designed to cover the individual, regardless of employment status or employer participation.
What is the Florida Health Choices Corporation, and how does this “clearinghouse” differ from Cover Florida?
The legislation that created the Cover Florida plan also created the Florida Health Choices Corporation. The corporation will oversee a centralized “marketplace” where small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may offer employees a chance to choose from a variety of new health care plans and services. These products will be overseen by a Board of Directors, comprised of appointees of the Governor, President of the Senate and Speaker of the House.
While Cover Florida plans will be available to individual Floridians regardless of employment, plans and services offered through the “marketplace” will be available to employees of small businesses that have chosen to enroll in the “marketplace.”
Can I see my own doctor?
Once plans begin enrolling consumers, you will need to contact the Cover Florida plan for which you wish to enroll to see if your current physician is included in their network.
Is there prescription coverage?
Every plan offers at least one of the following: prescription drug benefit coverage, use of a prescription drug manager, or a discount drug card. Each plan will vary.
I am an employer. Are there group plans available for my employees?
Group plans may be offered by the participating plans. Once plans begin enrolling consumers, you will need to contact the Cover Florida plans offered in your area to learn specific details. All plans are portable, meaning that the enrollee remains covered regardless of the status of employment or the employer’s cost-sharing of premiums, as long as premiums are paid in a timely manner.
How did the state select the six health insurance carriers for Cover Florida?
Once Governor Charlie Crist signed the Cover Florida legislation on May 21, 2008, the state went through a rigorous, open and competitive bidding process. Acting jointly on behalf of the State of Florida, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) issued the competitive Invitation to Negotiate on July 1, 2008. Interested plans submitted their proposals, which were reviewed by AHCA and OIR, along with representatives from the Executive Office of the Governor.
After examining the proposed benefits, flexibility and coverage offered by each plan, the agencies and the Office of the Governor selected six insurance plans. All three agencies worked jointly with the insurance carriers to finalize the contracts. Throughout the competitive process, the agencies worked to ensure that Cover Florida products would not only offer robust benefits but also be financially sound. The Cover Florida negotiation process officially ended in November 2008 when all six insurance companies signed contracts with the state.
What is the price tag to Florida taxpayers for Cover Florida?
Cover Florida plans do not require tax dollars and do not provide subsidies for premiums.
Cover Florida represents a fundamental shift in its approach to developing benefit plans. It permits the creation of new products that have previously not existed under Florida’s current regulatory structure. However, it maintains important state oversight of products, allowing Floridians to choose exactly the level of coverage that they need and, therefore, reducing the cost for consumers.
What incentive do the six insurance carriers have to provide Cover Florida plans?
With 3.8 million uninsured Floridians and potential health insurance customers, companies acknowledge the state’s purchasing power. The six selected insurance plans have designed robust plans at affordable rates in order to appeal to those potential customers.
For years, Floridians have had to choose between two extremes: Carry expensive health insurance with limitless benefits, or go without coverage. Although some low-cost plans have existed, the coverage has typically been very limited and has not offered hospitalization or other important benefits.
What role does the State of Florida have in providing the Cover Florida plans?
The State of Florida will not be involved in the purchasing process of Cover Florida plans. Each insurance company will have a Web page and a toll-free telephone number where individuals and employers can learn about available Cover Florida plan benefit options.
Moving forward, the Office of Insurance Regulation will monitor the sale of the products and address consumer concerns.
What measures were put in place to ensure continuity of care for consumers?
In order to ensure that people had adequate access to physicians, during the negotiation process, the state required that participating Cover Florida plans had already-established physician networks in the state or region where they would be operating.
Updates
Cover Florida Enrollment Summary - July 2009
Cover Florida Enrollment Summary - June 2009
Cover Florida Enrollment Summary - May 2009
Cover Florida Enrollment Summary - April 2009
Cover Florida Enrollment Summary - March 2009
bmflr
Nationwide insurance sounds good but the problem is that sometimes the best solutions are more local. Here in Florida even what county you are in makes a big difference, We have a guaranteed issue plan called cover Florida but there are only two insurers that cover the entire state. Some counties have many more options especially in regard to HMO choices. I think it would be a good idea if the state allowed individuals to buy into the medicaid plan they put that out to competitive bid county by county. That would be a good basic coverage at a best bid rate.
This is the comment I made on another thread about nationwide insurance. Cover Florida offers little coverage for not so inexpensive premium. I actually found much better coverage for about the same money from a regular insurer. I am not in a county that has an HMO available or I might have chosen that option.
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