Reno lays out plan for health insurance

Key to her proposal is ensuring all children under 19 have coverage.

©Associated Press
August 14, 2002

TALLAHASSEE -- The state should expand health insurance for children and provide more access to health care for elders, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Janet Reno said Tuesday.

Reno unveiled her health care plan during stops in Gainesville and Tallahassee.

Among her chief plans, children under 19 would be guaranteed health coverage if their family did not earn more than a certain amount per year ($54,000 for a family of four). The proposal said 616,000 children in Florida were uninsured in 2000.

"All of our children should be covered," said Reno, who added the state could find ways to pay for expanding medical coverage.

"Through competitive purchasing you can leverage a number of states in terms of purchasing drugs or medical benefits for state employees, prisoners and the like," she said.

Reno, former U.S. attorney general in the Clinton administration, is opposed by Tampa lawyer Bill McBride and state Sen. Daryl Jones of Miami in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary.

Gov. Jeb Bush is unopposed in the Republican primary in his bid to win re-election.

Todd Harris, a spokesman for the Bush campaign, called Reno's proposals unrealistic. "I thought that the Democrats would have learned by now that the public has no stomach for massive government-run health care programs," he said.

Reno also called for creating alliances to negotiate better rates on health plans for small business owners and self-employed workers, and providing low-interest, short-term loans to help temporarily unemployed people pay for health insurance premiums.

"We've got to be prepared to take care of the long-term care needs of our elderly population," Reno told about 50 seniors at a noon hour stop in Tallahassee, calling for improving eligibility requirements to qualify for the medically needy program that provides health care for people faced with catastrophic illnesses. The Legislature toughened those requirements last year.

Reno announced her plan to reduce the cost of prescription drugs last month in Boca Raton. She said it would require any drug manufacturer selling prescription drugs in Florida through any publicly funded or supported assistance program, including Medicaid, to enter a rebate agreement. Her plan would provide seniors with discounts that could reach 65 percent of the retail price, she said.

Jones, who has been largely ignored in his bid for the nomination, had been the only candidate with a detailed proposal.

"It's good to see she's provided some specifics about something," said McBride, who will present his own health proposals in the next few days.

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