The Senate Panel voted on a proposal that Florida lawmakers ought to enhance the quantity of premiums they pay for his or her Florida medical health insurance plans. The proposal needs all 160 members of the Legislature to pay the identical well being protection premiums as different state staff.As of this second, Florida lawmakers solely pay $eight.34 per 30 days for particular person healthcare plans and $30 a month for household well being protection plans. As for rank and file state staff, they must pay a month-to-month premium of $50 for particular person protection and $180 per 30 days for household protection.Florida Well being Insurance coverage Premiums Paid By Lawmakers Ought to Be EqualFor Senator Joe Negron, he needs the lawmakers in Florida to pay as a lot for his or her well being care as their workers do. Nonetheless, the vast majority of the Senate Funds Committee is strongly against Negron’s modification to extend the month-to-month premiums that they pay for well being care. The Funds Committee determined to not eradicate the outrageous FL medical health insurance perk.Negron filed an modification that may have considerably elevated the month-to-month well being care premiums of legislators from $eight.34 to $50 for particular person protection and $30 to $180 a month for household protection. If Negron succeeded, it might have introduced lawmakers’ well being protection premiums equal to what different state staff are paying.Negron stated we must always all be handled equally whether or not you are a lawmaker or a daily state employee. He argued that he simply could not get the purpose throughout that their staff should not pay greater than what they’re paying. “Legislators shouldn’t have richer benefits than the people that we work with,” he stated.Nonetheless, irrespective of how a lot Negron argued, his Republican colleagues simply did not agree with him. For different lawmakers, the price of staying in workplace has elevated and the insurance coverage perk that they’re receiving is supposed for them to have due to the demanding and arduous duties that they obtain day-after-day that pays not more than $30,000. Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, even referred to as Negron’s modification a “political statement” that would discourage Florida residents who aren’t wealthy to run for workplace.Negron countered that it wasn’t a political assertion. He stated $180 month-to-month premium for a household Florida medical health insurance plan is already an amazing deal as a result of it will probably attain about $500 a month if obtained within the personal sector. He does not appear to know why lawmakers needs to be handled 5 to 6 instances higher than their different 27,000 state co-workers. “We’re saying legislators should lead by example…we’re not entitled to preferential treatment,” he added.