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Article: Too sick to wait: health care. (health insurance reform in Florida) (American Survey)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- January 16, 1993
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BETWEEN 1980 and 1990, when Florida's consumer-price index rose by 59%, medical-care costs grew by 117%. The annual premium for family coverage under the state employee health-insurance programme quadrupled in the same period, from $840 to $3,756. A magnet for the retired from all over America, Florida has a health-care burden heavier than most states; but it also has the third-highest percentage of uninsured residents under the age of 65. In 1993 the state will start spending more on the Medicaid programme (a federal/state programme to provide health insurance for the poor) than on the public schools. Total health-care costs in the state are running at $31 billion a year, ...