The Florida version of the health insurance exchange would give small businesses (those with 50 or fewer employees) an online tool to shop for health plans. The online tool aims to entice employers who otherwise would not offer coverage to employees.
Florida will be the third state with an insurance exchange, following Massachusetts and Utah. The program is set up as a public-private partnership and includes key differences from the federal health reform, expected to be implemented in states across the country by 2014.
First, Florida’s exchange is only open to small employers, not individuals. Second, the federal law provides subsidies to help low-income individuals buy coverage through the exchange, while Florida does not. The federal law also gives tax credits to some small businesses to cover their workers; Florida does not.
Florida also will not require health plans to offer certain essential health benefits, like the federal law. Participation is voluntary for insurers and small businesses, both of which would pay a price for participating. Agents would pay $300 a year to sell policies through the exchange, and health plans would pay the exchange 2 percent of the premium for every policy sold through the program.
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