TAMPA, FL -- Now that a crucial vote has cleared the way for the Senate to take up the Democratic health care bill, both sides of the reform debate are ramping up their arguments.
This week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has rolled out the latest Washington study highlighting how health care reform will positively impact each individual state.
The report is titled Health Insurance Reform: The Case for Change. Some of the highlights for Florida include:
4 million residents who do not currently have insurance and 1.1 million residents who have nongroup insurance could get affordable coverage through the health insurance exchange.
2.5 million residents could qualify for premium tax credits to help them purchase health coverage.
3.2 million seniors would receive free preventive services.
565,000 seniors would have their brand-name drug costs in the Medicare Part D "doughnut hole" halved.
216,000 small businesses could be helped by a small business tax credit to make premiums more affordable.
If you want to read about the reported benefits for Florida check out an interactive state by state map, click
here.
Meanwhile, The Florida Medical Association is sounding off against health care reform in the Senate. The group, which represents nearly 20,000 physicians and medical students, released a statement Tuesday saying they have "serious concerns" about the health care reform bill currently moving forward in the United States Senate.
The FMA claims to support health care reform, but they say, "the proposed Senate legislation contains many provisions that would undermine the patient/physician relationship and create even more access obstacles for Floridians."
The FMA claims new "bureaucracies" will take the place of that relationship, hindering optimum patient care.
