State Rep. Frank Farkas of St. Petersburg didn't let fair play get in the way of expediency as he rammed his health insurance reform bill through a legislative committee. More than a dozen Florida residents were present at the House Health Regulation Committee to speak against Farkas' bill (HB 913), which would let employers offer health insurance plans stripped of most of their benefits. The only person allowed to testify, however, was an insurance lobbyist who favors the plan.

Following an established rule, Farkas, the committee's Republican chairman, had relinquished the gavel to Rep. Eleanor Sobel, the Democratic vice chairwoman, when the group turned to Farkas' bill. But as the hearing neared its scheduled end with only the lobbyist given time to speak, Farkas tried to press the issue. Sobel objected, so Farkas took back the gavel and called for a vote. The bill passed.

"I hope you can sleep," Arthur Greene shouted at Farkas. Greene had driven 400 miles to voice his opposition, and he was understandably outraged that he had been denied that chance. Greene and other opponents of the bill have children born with a cleft palate, which is treated with an expensive medical procedure that insurance wouldn't have to cover under Farkas' bill. The state currently requires certain coverage -- including mammograms, emergency room access and maternity care. But if Farkas' bill becomes law, the state would allow "flexible benefit" policies that have no such safeguards.

Sobel was so unhappy with the way the bill passed that she asked House Speaker Tom Feeney to require Farkas to reconvene the committee for more public testimony. "We just shut the process down," she said. "It's not the way we should function."

Farkas was not apologetic. "This is not the last committee hearing on this bill," he said. "(The critics) will get their chance if they choose to."

The rules didn't suit Farkas, so he changed the rules. Now, his solution is to make Greene drive 400 miles again for a chance, at some unknown future date, to speak against the bill. Lobbyists for the industries who would profit from the bill, of course, won't be inconvenienced.

Florida does have a health insurance crisis on its hands, with some businesses priced out of offering their employees full medical coverage. And while Farkas' bill addresses that problem, his cure does nearly as much harm as the disease. With a $25,000 cap on lifetime benefits and no coverage for common medical needs, so-called "flexible benefit" health plans will feel a lot like no insurance at all.

A debate on the issue might have led to a compromise that offers a more reasonable fix. That is, after all, the way laws should be written in a democracy. If Frank Farkas ever understood that principle, he has apparently forgotten it.

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