Lee County, FLA- Healthcare reform is being debated on Capital Hill and across the country.

As a public option is being voted on in Washington, private insurers are advertising affordable solutions.

Three Lee County residents agreed to be part of an experiment to see if affordable health insurance is available.

College student Thomas Turano has been without health insurance for a year. After searching online and typing in some very basic information Turano was given numerous quotes under $100, but many had very high deductibles.

Eventually, Turano found Go Blue Florida, a Blue Cross Blue Shield discount plan without any catastrophic coverage for just $22 a month. After a quick phone call, Blue Cross offered to add a secondary plan to the discount plan for another $34 a month. For just $58 a month, Turano's insurance would have a $250 deductible, pay $50 towards all doctor's visits, apply discounts to prescriptions, cover 100% of lab tests and blood work if its in network and cover 80% of major medical expenses.

"I think it would be worth it because it covers so much," said Turano.

Single mother Maggie Delmore is a producer at WINK News who is shopping for a better plan that what's offered at work.

"I didn't expect it to be so high because when it was just me it was $15 every month, now all of a sudden I have to pay at least $300 every month," said Delmore, whose cut off point would be $400 a month for health insurance.

Blue Cross Blue Shield offered her a plan for $456 a month that had a $500 deductible, $25 copay, and $10 medications.

Delmore's best find was a Cigna plan that would cost her $388 a month. It included $25 office visits, a $1,000 deductible and 80% coverage on major medical expenses.

For retirees over the age of 65, Medicare covers 80% of medical expenses.

"When you talk to all your older friends they say, 'You gotta get a supplement. You gotta get a plan to cover the gap'," said Fred Schilffarth, a retiree who is shopping for a medicare supplement plan.

Schilffarth found a plan through Aetna's website for just $21 a month, but the copay was higher than he liked.

Blue Cross offered him a supplement for $45 a month that makes his copay for office visits $15, his deductible $300 and takes care of the gap left by medicare.

Schilffarth pays $96 a month from his social security payment for medicare, so with the Blue Cross plan his total monthly cost would be $141.

"If I want to be hassle free, that's pretty much the best bet I have right now," said Schilffarth.

**** It's important to note, these were quotes and not actual policy prices that were offered to participants.
Also, each person is different and none of our participants had major medical problems.
We attempted to find participants with pre-existing medical conditions, and in the 40-60 year old age group but no one we spoke with would agree to go on camera to be part of the story.
While speaking with some of those people over the phone, some said they pay upwards of $500 a month for insurance due to their pre-existing conditions.