The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation issued the following news release:
The Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board (Board) has submitted its 2008 legislative recommendations for improvements in Florida's private health insurance market. The recommendations include suggestions for marketplace improvements, enhancing the insurance risk pool, working toward more transparency and efficiency in the health care system, and they outline efforts to expand the utilization of electronic medical records.
'The Board does not propose specific legislation, but provides these recommendations for the consideration of the governor and our state's legislative leaders,' said Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, the Board's chairman. 'We welcome the opportunity to meet with them to discuss these recommendations in more detail.' The Board was established by the Florida Legislature in 1992 as the Small Employer Health Reinsurance Program for the purpose of promoting availability of health care coverage to small employers. In 2005, the Legislature expanded the composition of the Board to include representatives of employers, an individual policyholder and a representative from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). The Board's responsibilities have also been expanded to serve in an advisory role to the Office of Insurance Regulation, AHCA, the Department of Financial Services, other executive departments and the Legislature on health insurance issues.
To achieve its purpose, the Board held four public meetings in 2007 at three different locations across the state - Tallahassee, Miami and Orlando. The meetings provided a forum for stakeholders in Florida's health insurance market - including insurers, employers, agents, consumers and regulators - to discuss and develop strategies related to market stability, access to coverage and pricing. Based on this testimony and public discussion, the Board developed its list of legislative recommendations. For more information, please contact the Board's Executive Director Jim Bracher at 850-322-5822.
