What Are The Major Healthcare Changes after the Healthcare Reform in Florida?

• Health insurance exchanges would make health insurance coverage affordable for the 4 million uninsured Floridians and the 1.1 million with non-group health insurance coverage.
  
  
• Premium tax credits would be available to 2.5 million Floridians.
  
  
• Free preventative services would be provided to 3.2 million senior citizens.
  
  
• The Medicare Part D "doughnut hole" would be remedied, so that 565,000 senior citizens would be paying only half the cost of the brand name medications.
  
  
• The small business tax credit would allow 216,000 small businesses to benefit from lower group health insurance premiums.

Early Benefits Enjoyed By 18.3 Million Floridians in 2010 and 2011 as a Result of the Florida Health Insurance Reform:

• Consumers will no longer have lifetime limits on their health insurance coverage. Annual limit use will be altered and medical insurance companies will not be allowed to drop coverage arbitrarily.
  
  
• There will be options available to those ineligible for medical insurance. Presently there are 10% of Floridians with Diabetes and 28% with high blood pressure who struggle to get health insurance. Insurers often deny coverage for these two groups. A high-risk pool established by the reform bill will give such people medical insurance options.
  
  
• Free preventative services will be available. Of the preventative tests that have been neglected, 36% of Floridians have not undergone a colorectal screening for cancer and 18% of women aged 50 and above have neglected to get a mammogram for the past two years. Prevention and public health will be encouraged through funds invested for these purposes.
  
  
• Health insurance coverage for those who retire early will be supported. Even though 294,000 early retirees have special coverage through their employers, such coverage is becoming rarer. The new system would offer reinsurance to help stabilize the medical insurance coverage and help lower premiums for existing employees and the early retirees. It could make as much as $1200 difference in premiums for families.