Florida Health Insurance - Health Insurance

White House: Florida needs health-care reform

Since 2000, family health-care premiums in Florida have increased by 88 percent to an average of $12,780 a year -- about the same as income from a full-time minimum-wage job. The White House released these and other figures today to help make the case for health-care reform, pointing to high costs for consumers in Florida and other states. ``Floridians know that inaction is not an option,’’ the White House said in a statement accompanying the numbers. ``Sky-rocketing health-care costs are hurting families, forcing businesses to cut or drop health benefits and straining state budgets. Millions are paying more for less. Families and businesses in Florida deserve better.’’ The White House rounded up Census data and other government reports to compile figures for each state. These include the fact that about one in five Floridians lack health insurance. An estimated 21 percent of middle-income Florida families spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care, the report says. And 15 percent of Floridians avoid going to the doctor because of high costs. The state reports are designed to bring home the impact of costs and inefficiencies in the current system, part of the White House attempt to prod Congress into action. The Obama administration has decided to let Congress take the lead on fashioning specific legislation, hoping for a consensus among Democrats and enough Republicans to get something passed. Obama’s people learned from the experience of former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who in 1994 labored for months to present a detailed proposal to Congress only to see it collapse in a heap of controversy. The Obama White House is playing an active role by guiding the debate from behind the scenes and stirring public...

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