ATLANTA (AP) -- Gov. Sonny Perdue on Wednesday signed a pair of bills aimed at making high-deductible health insurance plans more accessible to Georgians.

Critics said one of the measures is little more than a hefty tax break for insurers. It eliminates the companies' state and local premium taxes on high deductible plans and is expected to save them $146 million over five years.

This type of insurance plan is a key component of health policy for many Republicans, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who attended the bill signing Wednesday at Atlanta Medical Center.

Participants typically put money in tax-free health savings accounts to pay medical expenses out-of-pocket until they meet a high yearly deductible, which can be several thousand dollars. Some preventive care -- such as annual pap smears and routine infant checkups -- are covered by the plans before the deductible is reached.

Another bill Perdue signed on Wednesday helps with the creation of the health savings accounts. It allows employers to set up for their workers the plans into which pretax dollars may be deposited to defray medical costs.

Gingrich called the high-deductible plans a free-market approach to health policy that rewards healthy behavior.

Perdue said they'll help reduce the swelling ranks of Georgia's uninsured by offering an affordable option with a low premium.

But consumer health advocate Linda Smith Lowe questioned how many of those currently without health insurance will actually opt for the high-deductible plans. Most of the 1.7 million Georgians who are uninsured have modest incomes and are unlikely to be able to pay thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket health expenses, she said.

Even supporters of the plans acknowledge they are best suited to younger, healthier people who don't expect big routine costs but are worried about paying unexpected and expensive bills for problems such as accidents or cancer.

"I say it's better than no insurance at all," Perdue said.

Still, critics such as Lowe say the plans are risky for the poor who don't understand how the high-deductible plans differ from more traditional types of coverage and thus don't realize how much they'll have to spend before they reach the deductible.

Kirk McGhee, executive director of the Georgia Health Plans Association, argued it was wrong to portray the measure as a tax break for insurers since they would pass the savings on to consumers. Failing to do so will lose them business, he said.

But Lowe said that because insurance bills aren't itemized, it would be hard for customers to tell if they are getting a better deal because of the companies' lower taxes.

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By Shannon Mccaffrey, Associated Press Writer

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.