Charlie Crist on Health Care

Cover Florida: $150 a month plan for 3.8 million uninsured

Crist's "Cover Florida" proposal would not come with a state mandate that individuals had to buy it or employers had to offer it. And it would give insurance companies lots of leeway in deciding how to structure such a health plan--as long

Cover Florida: $150 a month plan for 3.8 million uninsured

A $150-per-month health-insurance policy "can't get you comprehensive coverage," says one analyst; such a plan would either have sky-high deductibles for hospital stays or have no hospitalization coverage at all. Another analyst replies, "Anything that moves some number of people from the uninsured category into the insured category is a good thing that is worth considering."

Expand tax-free medical savings accounts

Crist supports the following principles concerning health care:
• Support legislation to define and enforce the rights of insured patients.
• Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts, which would be taxed if used for any purpose other than medical costs.
• Provide citizens age 55-65 the option of purchasing Medicare health coverage.