States Go for Bold Changes

Florida, Minnesota, and Vermont have enacted sweeping health-care reforms designed to broaden or guarantee universal coverage and contain costs. "While we would prefer a national solution to our health-care cost and access problems, the states can no longer simply wait for the federal government to act," Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles told a Senate health-care subcommittee in mid-June. Florida's Health Care Reform Act, enacted in March, calls for affordable health care for all, but it left a lot of details to be worked out later. It creates a new state Agency for Health ('are Administration to develop recommendations on acand cost control.

Rather than mandate health coverage the act promotes voluntary coverage by all employers and cost containment through voluntary price controls, volume discounting, and managed care. If the voluntary approach fails to achieve targeted goals by the end of 1994, Chiles has said, the state may eventually impose a play-or-pay mandate on employers or a Canadian-style single-payer system. The act also contains various small-group insurance-market reform provisions.

Minnesota's HealthRight law, enacted in April, will offer subsidized health care to roughly half of the state's 400,000 uninsured "working poor." Funds to subsidize care for the uninsured will come from a new 2 percent surtax on hospitals'  and physicians' income, and a 1 percent premium tax to be paid by Blue Cross and Blue Shield and HMOs. Commercial insurers already pay a 2 percent premium tax. Additional funds will come from a 5-cent increase in the state cigarette tax. HealthRight also permits employers to purchase coverage from a new state pool and requires insurers to guarantee issue and renewal of health plans to small employers.

Vermont's health-care law, enacted in May, creates a state agency assigned to devise a universal health plan for implementation in late 1994. The Health Care Authority will present two different plans for the legislature to choose from next year. One must be based on a Canadianstyle, single-payer model, and the other must be a multipayer model. The authority also has power to adopt an annual health-care budget for the state and to bargain on behalf of state employees for purchase of health benefits.

ANNUITIES MEANING	ULTIMATE ASSURANCE	PROPERTY SETTLEMENT
WEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE	MILLENNIALS CHOOSE TO BUY HOME	HOMEOWNER KNOW INSURANCE
ASK MORTGAGE LENDERS	CAR ACCIDENT SETTLEMENT WORTH	MORTGAGE APPLICATION
PREPARE INVESTING STOCK	SHOPPING WITHOUT DEBT	FACTORS AFFECTING HOME LOAN
CREDIT CARDS WITH NO DEBT	PLAN FOR BUSINESS LOANS	STEP BUYING INSURANCE
CHOOSING LIFE INSURANCE	CHEAP CAR INSURANCE	DEBT WITH CREDIT CARD
TYPE OF INSURANCE	HOW TO REQUEST A CLAIM	DEPOSIT BANKS OR TINSURANCE
NEED LIFE INSURANCE	INSURE ASSETS AND LIABILITIES	CONTRACT BUYING A HOUSE
HAPPY IF IN DEBT	PAY CAR INSTALLMENTS	MOST CAR INSURANCE TERMS
URGENT MONEY REQUEST LOAN	SAVE MONEY IN STOCKS	HOW TO HAVE A HOME
PLAN BEFORE RETIREMENT	PLAN REPAYMENT CAREFULLY	PLUNGING TO THE DEPTHS
CUT HEALTH CARE COSTS	HANDLING EMPLOYEE DEPARTURE	PUT ON RETAILERS' SHELVES
LOW COST PROMOTION	GUIDE TO OFFICE COLLEAGUES	GET TQM TRAINING
UNCONSCIOUS CREDIT CARDS	HOME TO PAY OFF DEBT	WANT MONEY TO INVEST
CREDIT CARD ADDICTION	MANAGE CREDIT CARD DEBT	INSURANCE AGREEMENT
LOANS FOR EDUCATION	LEAD TO POVERTY	WHAT IS PRIVATE FUND
OVERLOOK INSURANCE	ALSO SAVING ON DEBT	DO BEFORE RETIRING

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