Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed a law that could slash health insurance costs for individuals and small-business owners and help the state shed its record as a national laggard in health coverage.

Speaking at the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami on Wednesday, Crist called the bill the ''crown jewel'' of his healthcare efforts and said it will give the state the power to negotiate on behalf of the 3.8 million Floridians living without insurance.

The law comes in two phases: Crist's proposal to ask insurers to offer individuals stripped-down health policies for a lower price, and House Speaker Marco Rubio's plan to set up a public-private corporation that would act as a human-resources department and a virtual marketplace for health plans.

Crist's ''Cover Florida'' plans could be available by January.

The Rubio proposal -- aimed at small businesses -- will take longer because the state has to set up the public-private corporation patterned after HealthyKids Corp., which offers healthcare to the children of the working poor.

The changes could not come soon enough for Parks Masterson.

The president of Hopkins-Carter Marine, which sells boating and fishing hardware in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, Masterson said the insurance policy for his 20 employees would have increased 30 percent this year if he had not slashed benefits and increased the deductible.

The premium for a single employee is upward of $300 a month and the company covers 70 percent of the cost.

''A company with 500 employees might be able to negotiate a better deal than I can as a small business owner,'' Masterson said. ``I am hoping this [law] helps my workers and my business.''

''Cover Florida'' allows insurers to shed many of the more than 50 government mandates for services. Less coverage means a lower price -- as low as $150 a month, Crist says, by as early as next year.

Still, the plans would have some mandatory coverage -- such as for diabetics. Also, insurance companies would have to offer two plans: one with catastrophic coverage and one without. But the scope and extent of the benefits still have to be worked out.

The public-private corporation would need to be set up, at a cost of about $1.5 million. It would act as middleman between health providers and small businesses and fund its operations from a portion of the premiums it collects on behalf of the businesses.

The corporation would negotiate with health-plan providers -- including insurers or a new health network -- providing anything from traditional outpatient care to chiropractic services to acupuncture to walk-in clinics.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses, which has about 12,000 members in Florida, said the law is a step in the right direction.

''When the average person thinks of the uninsured they may not realize that a large chunk of it comes from the small business community,'' said NFIB Florida's legislative affairs chief Allen Douglas.

About half of NFIB's membership cannot afford health insurance for their employees, he said.

While the plan is bound to help, questions remain, Douglas said.

''Will the insurance companies play ball? Will the policies really be there and how will the small business community react to them? Will they come in numbers sufficient enough that it will succeed?'' he asked.

The law will also be good for employees, as they can take their individual insurance from job to job, Crist said. ''That is the beauty of the plan,'' he said. The plan also has a political payback, as Crist hits the campaign trail for Republican John McCain who is also touting a health insurance plan.

Florida has the third-highest rate of the uninsured in the nation, with 20.2 percent of the state's population uncovered. About 43 percent of all Floridians age 18 to 34 are uninsured.

Flora Sweet lost her insurance when the Miami marketing firm she worked for merged with Texas-based Boundless Networks early this year. Although she bought a policy for her daughter, covering herself has been a low priority during the transition into the new job.

''The other day I had a rash on my neck and I thought `Oh no, I'm going to have to go to one of those urgent care centers,'' she said. ``So it's nice to know this is going to happen.''

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