Health insurance bill moves forward

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Health insurance bill moves forward

By Lloyd Dunkelber Ger

Sun Tallahassee Bureau April 22, 2003

TALLAHASSEE - A bill aimed at better regulating out-of-state health insurance companies cleared the House Insurance Committee Monday, after an attempt to defeat an industry-backed amendment on the bill failed.

Rep. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, sponsor of the measure (HB 999), said he would continue to work to bring the House bill closer to a Senate version (SB 2264), which unanimously cleared the Senate Health, Aging and Long-Term Care Committee on Monday.

"It's the fifth inning and we still have a few more at bats," Negron said.

The bills target out-of-state health insurance companies that sell "group" policies to individuals in Florida. Using a loophole, the companies largely avoid rate regulation. And for some consumers that means when they get sick, their rates skyrocket and state regulators can do nothing about it.

Al Davis, a 62-year-old Panama City man, said he bought his policy through an out-of-state association in 1997. But he's seen his rates increase 136 percent and has had his deductible rise to $5,000 a year.

He says he's now worried that when his next scheduled rate increase comes in June, his monthly health insurance premium will be nearly equal to his Social Security check.

Davis said he is worried that his premium will become unaffordable before he reaches 65 and can qualify for Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly.

With the support of Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, Negron and Sen. Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, have legislation that would subject the out-of-state companies to the same regulation faced by in-state Florida companies, such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

But a House insurance subcommittee - headed by Rep. Donna Clarke, R-Sarasota - rewrote Negron's bill with an industry-backed amendment, which Negron and Gallagher say dramatically weakens the legislation.

On Monday, Negron tried to have his bill changed back to a version closer to his original bill and what the Senate is proposing, but his effort was defeated in a voice vote by the Insurance Committee.

Instead, the committee endorsed the industry-backed amendment, with a series of modifications advanced by Rep. John Stargel, R-Lakeland, before voting for the bill.

Paul Sanford, a lobbyist for the Florida Insurance Council, said Negron's original bill would drive out-of-state insurance companies from the Florida market and further limited insurance choices for consumers.

''Do you want to have this product available in Florida or not?'' he asked the committee.

But critics said the bill won't help consumers like Al Davis, who are facing exorbitant rate hikes at the time when they get sick and need their insurance the most.

''It's the same thing we have now, it's just dressed up differently,'' said John Sinibaldi, an insurance agent from Seminole who supports Negron's bill. ''It just legitimizes what we're trying to prevent.''