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Senator peppered with complaints

At a town meeting, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson told residents he was trying to solve their problems.

By GARRETT THEROLF
Published November 29, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - Prepared to speak about most every issue gripping Washington, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson found that his Pasco audience was intensely focused on prescription drugs and insurance rates.

The senator's road show arrived Tuesday as part of his tour through all 67 Florida counties, and the five dozen seniors, Democratic party activists, and local officials who met him said the Medicare drug benefit was too confusing, and property insurance rates were too high.

"Between the copays for the Medicare drug benefit, homeowners insurance rates, the assesments that come from the Citizens (Insurance Corp.) losses, we are insurance poor here," said Deborah Labadie of New Port Richey, whose mother in Holiday is a Medicare recipient.

In response, Nelson said "You're not only preaching to the choir, you're preaching to the preacher."

Nelson said he was pushing to solve both problems, beginning with a bill he co-sponsored earlier this month that would provide more time for seniors to wade through the Medicare drug plans before choosing one.

Under terms of Nelson's bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., seniors would have until the end of 2006 to enroll in a plan. They also could change plans within the first year without paying a penalty. A matching bill has been filed in the House.

The current law says seniors who miss the May 15 deadline face an increase in premiums of 1 percent per month. They also can't switch plans during the year.

A bill that would spread the insurance costs more evenly across the nation is farther away, Nelson said, although a priority for a counties such as Pasco that has faced doubling rates year over year because of sinkhole claims.

"I am working on a bill right now to do that, but this is exceptionally complicated," said Nelson, who acknowledged later that the bill might not be ready for a year or more.

State Rep. John Legg, R-New Port Richey, attended the meeting and took a swipe at Nelson's response to the rise in insurance rates.

"It was vague, but that's to be expected from Washington," Legg said.

The meeting was otherwise uncritical of Nelson, who was introduced by longtime Republican County Commissioner Ann Hildebrand. She said in an interview later that she arranged for his appearance at the West Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey and will vote for him in his re-election bid next year.

Nelson took pains to portray the meeting as nonpartisan and informational, but he has been open about his hope that grassroots meetings like this one will help solidify his standing among Floridians, and it provided glimpses of the coming campaign.

"The country's going in the wrong direction," the senator charged.

[Last modified November 29, 2005, 18:23:19]