As healthcare reform bills make their way through the House and the Senate in Washington, a report released Wednesday by Families USA said changes are crucial for many in Florida because an estimated 3,560 persons in the state are expected to lose health coverage each week from 2008 through 2010.

Altogether, 556,070 Floridians could lose health insurance between January 2008 and December 2010 according to the report, ``The Clock is Ticking: More Americans Losing Health Coverage.''

RISING PREMIUMS

The report, by the Washington-based consumer group, said the economic downturn ''is contributing to the problem,'' but the more fundamental concern is that ''skyrocketing premiums, up 119 percent from 1999 to 2008, . . . continue to have the greatest impact on family and employer healthcare costs,'' according to a Families USA press release.

Though the report focuses on statewide numbers, many other surveys have shown that healthcare costs in South Florida are considerably higher than statewide.

4.5M LACK INSURANCE

The report is based on an analysis published in the Health Affairs policy journal, which projected that 6.9 million Americans will lose coverage by the end of 2010. The most recent Census data shows that 45.7 million Americans had no insurance in 2007, and that number is assumed to have grown during the recession.

The projections assume no healthcare reform before the end of 2010 and that personal income growth and per capita health spending among insured adults ``will follow the latest projections of the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.''

REFORM BILL

A healthcare reform bill of more than 1,000 pages has been filed this week in the U.S. House of Representatives. Another bill, led by Sen. Ted Kennedy, recently was approved by a Senate committee.

''We have a wonderful opportunity now -- with a broad consensus in support of action and momentum -- to enact meaningful health reform,'' Families USA President Ron Pollack said in a statement. ``The longer Congress waits to act, the more Florida families will lose coverage.''

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@