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Bare-bones health coverage will soon be available for uninsured Floridians for about 155 dollars a month. Governor Charlie Crist unveiled the details of the Cover Florida Plan today. As Whitney Ray tells us, lower costs are possible because customers will have coverage options.

Hear it Here: Cover Florida

The state’s new low cost insurance plan works like a health care buffet. Governor Charlie Crist said the idea is to scale back coverage to lower cost.

“People can choose preventative coverage only, or they can choose coverage that includes catastrophic as well as hospital care,” Crist said.

Starting in January six insurance companies will carry 25 different Cover Florida plans. The Governor’s Health Insurance Advisor David Foy said the wide selection will allow people to scale back coverage to save money.

“They have a plan and say maybe I need 10 to 15 days hospital coverage and that way I can reduce my premium by 100, a 115 percent,” said Foy.

The plan is offered to Floridians ages 19 – 64, who were either laid off and lost their coverage or have been uninsured for at least six months.

One in three people who sell houses for a living don’t have health insurance. The Florida Association of Realtors says this plan could change that statistic. The association sent emails to its 130,000 members about the Cover Florida plans.

“Many of them haven’t sold a house in a while, but when you think about the fact that monthly insurance premiums for the average Floridian are about 500 dollars, you know an independent contractor or a small business person just can’t pay that in a tough market,” said association spokesman John Sebree.

About 3.8 million Floridians qualify for the plans, but many may not be able to afford any coverage at all. The Cover Florida plans will be available starting January 5th. For more information you can go to www.coverfloridahealthcare.com.