TALLAHASSEE -- The 3.8 million uninsured Floridians will have the option to buy affordable health insurance plans starting Jan. 5 under Gov. Charlie Crist's Cover Florida health initiative.

Crist said Wednesday that six companies have agreed to offer 25 different health coverage packages around the state. The type and cost of the plans vary, depending on the county and whether a person picks a ''preventive'' or ''catastrophic'' plan.

Average monthly cost: $155. The most expensive, catastrophic plan that offers the most hospital care would cost about $290 monthly. The leanest package would cost about $51 monthly.

''Today, Floridians are one step closer to having the quality affordable healthcare they deserve,'' Crist said. ``This is about helping people, helping children, helping seniors and making a difference in their lives. It's about freedom and choices.''

Crist didn't mention a high-cost aspect of one of the plans offered in every county: Deductibles. Under Blue Cross/Blue Shield's catastrophic plan, families would have to pay a $3,000 deductible.

Tough-to-spot costs like this worry advocates for children and seniors. Karen Woodall, who lobbies for social-service agencies, said the Cover Florida plans stop short of universal health coverage and subtly encourage people to act like shoppers rather than patients.

''I appreciate people getting options,'' Woodall said. ``But healthcare isn't like shopping for a car, looking for the best deal.''

Woodall said that times are so tough right now that even people in KidCare, the state's subsidized health program for the working poor, are falling behind on payments as low as $20 monthly.

The Cover Florida plans are available to Floridians age 19 to 64 who have lost their jobs or have been without coverage for more than six months. Miami-Dade County, where nearly a quarter of the residents are uninsured, will have five Cover Florida plans.

The plans cover many of the same items as full-fledged insurance packages, but they offer fewer benefits. For instance, conventional insurance packages might offer more prescription-drug coverage and more hospital stays than a Cover Florida plan.

In return for less coverage, insurers negotiated with the state to offer the less-expensive plans.

A list of the different plans is available at http://coverfloridahealthcare.com.

Marc Caputo can be reached at mcaputo@MiamiHerald.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@