Florida ranks third among states for the most uninsured residents topped only by California and Texas. For employer groups with less than fifty employees, the number of group health insurance companies has dropped from over 700 to less than five during the past 20 years. Most employers in Florida have less than fifty employees.
As a Candidate for House District 48, I am studying the problem so that I can be an effective legislator when I get to Tallahassee next fall. Thankfully, I have members of my Advisory Committee who have had over fifty years of combined experience in the healthcare industry both the insurer side of the business as well as on the employer side as Corporate Risk Manager. I am told that there is no easy ‘fix’. In my policy statement, I have attempted to summarize how we got to where we are in order to give voters a better understanding of why I will be supporting initiatives like the Hillsborough Indigent Healthcare Program statewide. Phyllis Busansky, Democratic Candidate for Congressional District 9 when she served as a Hillsborough County Commissioner, crafted the Indigent Healthcare Program. It has support from both sides of the isle and both ends of the political spectrum. The reason? The Indigent Healthcare Program works!
Another issue I will be addressing is the take-over by the HMOs of the care of Medicaid recipients. The problem? HMOs do not cover all areas of our State and those unable to get reasonable care locally will turn to emergency rooms for their treatment. HMOs are designed to manage cost, but, if there are no HMOs for a Medicaid patient to turn to, cost containment will not happen. It will be just the opposite with taxpayers underwriting the costs.
When I reach Tallahassee, my immediate support will go to the following healthcare issues:
§ Expand Hillsborough Indigent Health Plan statewide
§ Rescind the legislation that turned Medicaid over to the HMO industry
Please click here to read my full policy statement on Healthcare.
2 comments ↓
Lemme get this straight, you’re defaulting in your policy statement to “Phyllis Busansky?” Why have this statement at all if this woman’s policy is so tip top? Better yet, why isn’t there a link to “Phyllis Busansky” and her campaign web site? Are you officially endorsing her? Why not have THAT as official newws on your site isntead of saying you have a policy statement and then clue in on another candidate and their statement?
I’m crediting Phyllis Busansky for her good work which has proved to be successful. I want to take the basic concept of that program and move it to a state level.
The benefits would be to not only take care of the indigent, but to provide a savings to the rest of us by taking a very costly factor out of our premiums. I am not endorsing Ms. Busansky. There is another very
qualified democratic candidate in that race, Bill Mitchell. I am friends with them both. In fact, I am also friends with the leading Republican candidate, Gus Bilirakis. The policy is currently only on a county level. Thanks for your comments. I needed to clarify that.