 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Proud of past, incumbent runs again
By CURTIS KRUEGER, Times Staff Writer State Rep. Frank Farkas has taken political heat for some of the insurance legislation he has proposed during the past two years, but he says he's proud of his record and eager to serve another two years in the Florida Legislature. "We've made some great strides in improving some of the state's efficiencies. I want to continue to work on those," Farkas said. Farkas, R-St. Petersburg, says too many Floridians are uninsured, and he reasoned that if insurance companies could reduce their costs, they could offer more affordable plans. These plans wouldn't be as good as the top-flight policies, but they'd beat having nothing at all, he argued. He proposed letting insurance companies devise new policies that would not require them to cover certain procedures now mandatory -- including mammograms, and treatments for HIV-related diseases and cleft palate. Responding to a firestorm of protest, Farkas removed that provision. The Legislature this year passed a bill which keeps all those mandatory coverage items, but allows insurance companies to provide lower-cost policies by allowing higher deductibles, higher co-payments and other provisions for businesses with 50 or fewer employees. "Just imagine if we could have more people with health insurance, what that does to the health of our society," Farkas said, noting that the uninsured are more likely to suffer from serious, preventable illnesses. Farkas said he also is proud of supporting education reforms such as grading schools. Asked if schools needed additional funding, he said Florida needs "to make sure that more money is spent in the classroom versus siphoned off through the administrative bureaucracy." He also has been active on other health care and social service issues. Farkas is running for re-election in newly redrawn House District 52, which includes portions of Northeast St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park and Largo. He will face Cary Burns in the Sept. 10 GOP primary election. A Democrat, Christopher C. Eaton and a Libertarian, Michael K. Barnett, have filed paperwork to run. Farkas, 46, was elected to the House in 1998, after losing in a 1996 campaign for the seat. He's a graduate of St. Petersburg Catholic High School, St. Petersburg Junior College, Eckerd College and Palmer College of Chiropractic, and is a chiropractor.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
