State of Florida Archives: on Health Care

Andrew Gillum: Healthcare should be a fundamental right

TrumpCare is nothing more than a tax cut for millionaires that cuts healthcare for millions and raises costs on everyone else. Here in Florida, we never received the opportunity to benefit from the full impact the Affordable Care Act, because Gov. Scott refused to extend Medicaid to over one million Floridians. Andrew will work to expand Medicaid and strengthen the Affordable Care Act. Andrew has proposed passing a Florida law protecting people with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage, being charged more for their care due to a pre-existing condition, or women being charged more than men.

Andrew Gillum: Extend Medicaid to one million Floridians

As Governor, Andrew will work to expand Medicaid and strengthen the Affordable Care Act. Andrew has proposed passing a Florida law protecting people with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage, being charged more for their care due to a pre-existing condition, or women being charged more than men. As Governor, Andrew will restore Floridians' healthcare security--the knowledge that if something horrible happens to a loved one that they'll be taken care of. If they were born with a genetic disorder or chronic illness, that they won't be denied coverage, or face the inhumane choice between bankruptcy or healthcare.

Andrew Gillum: Expand ObamaCare; Medicare for Al

A: Strongly Support--As Governor, Andrew will work to expand Medicaid and strengthen the Affordable Care Act. Andrew believes that healthcare should be a fundamental right, not a privilege. Floridians struggle everyday to keep themselves and their families from going bankrupt due to the cost of healthcare. Andrew believes that Senator Sanders' Medicare for All plan will help lower costs and expand coverage to more Floridians.

Andrew Gillum: Medicare for all: universal health care is a right

Much of that platform will be difficult to achieve with a Republican-controlled Legislature, where leaders in the House have rejected Medicaid expansion after protracted battles.

[Republican gubernatorial opponent Ron] DeSantis hasn't laid out a specific platform on health care and has said little about health care policy. His issues page on his website, which was published a week before the primary, doesn't include the subject. In a debate with GOP primary opponent Adam Putnam, he indicated health care wasn't a right.

Andrew Gillum: Medicare-for-All, paid $1B restoration of corporate tax cuts

Gillum said that he would "absolutely not raise taxes on everyday working Floridians" to institute the proposal. Pressed on whether wealthier Floridians would see a tax hike, he said corporations would front the plan.

"We will increase taxes for corporations in our state who, right now, just so you are aware, only 3% of companies in the state of Florida pay the corporate tax rate. And that 3% under the Donald Trump tax scam got a windfall of $6.3 billion overnight due to the tax reform that took place in Washington, DC," Gillum said.

"We're not asking for all of it," he continued. "We simply said we believe that we ought to bring a billion of that money back into the state's government because being a cheap-date state has not worked for the state of Florida."

Andrew Gillum: Expand Medicaid in Florida; work toward Medicare-for-All

Ron DeSantis (R): Voted to repeal ACA. No FL Medicaid expansion. Says health care isn't a right. The right is to pursue the type of healthcare you want. ObamaCare infringes on that.

Andrew Gillum (D): Support & strengthen ACA, guarantee care for pre-existing conditions, expand Medicaid in Florida. Work toward "Medicare for all."

Annette Taddeo: Override governor; let voters decide on Medicaid expansion

Betty Castor: Expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research

Betty Castor: Fight for a meaningful prescription drug plan

CASTOR: The new Medicare law did plenty to enrich the drug companies, but nothing to actually lower drug costs for most seniors. In fact, the new law actually tied Medicare’s hands from negotiating for lower prices and it denied our seniors the right to buy high-quality, low-cost drugs from Canada. The government should be required to negotiate for the lowest prices possible. And seniors should get help locating safe and affordable drugs in Canada, until they can get them here at home. I will fight for a meaningful prescription drug plan - one that gives seniors real savings, and doesn’t make false promises.

MARTINEZ: I support Bush’s plan to provide prescription drug benefits to millions of Americans. It is a good first step in lowering the costs of prescription drugs for seniors. I support any good idea to reduce drug costs so long as we can assure the safety of the drug supply for patients.

Brian Mast: Repeal and defund ObamaCare

Health care in America would be best improved by allowing small businesses & voluntary associations to join together to get the same insurance discounts as large corporations. We need to expand the use of Health Savings Accounts, allow for insurance purchases across state lines, and give individuals tax deductions so they can buy insurance that fits their needs.

Brian Moore: Opposes ObamaCare because it allows private sector

A: Strongly oppose.ÿ We need to have a government run health system for all citizens in the state.ÿ The private sector, which is a major part of Obamacare, should not be part of the system.ÿ It should be an entirely government run health system, offering comprehensive medical and mental health care for all.

Carlos Curbelo: ObamaCare increases costs; empower patients instead

Carlos Lopez-Cantera: Amend state constitution to block ObamaCare in Florida

Amendment to the State Constitution to prohibit compelling any person or employer to provide for health care coverage.
• To preserve the freedom of all residents of the state to provide for their own health care:
• A law may not compel any person or employer to purchase, obtain, or otherwise provide for health care coverage.
• A person or an employer may pay directly for lawful health care services and may not be required to pay penalties for paying directly for lawful health care services.
• A health care provider may accept direct payment for lawful health care services and may not be required to pay penalties for accepting direct payment from a person or an employer for lawful health care services.
• The private market for health care coverage of any lawful health care service may not be abolished by law or rule.

Status:Bill passed House, 80-37-2; passed Senate, 29-10-1. (Carlos Lopez-Cantera voted YEA).

Charlie Crist: Cover Florida: 6,000 uninsured given peace of mind

CRIST: Pre-existing instances should not be a discriminatory tool used by insurance companies to not give people insurance. We need to repeal this thing. Let's start over. The real problems with health care are access and affordability. And we have approached those in Florida, a plan called Cover Florida. No tax dollars involved. No government mandates. I think Washington could learn a lot from Florida.

Q: We looked into Cover Florida--stripped-down insurance for stripped-down prices. As you say, all voluntary. But only 0.1% of Florida's uninsured have signed up for it, 5,000 out of millions of people.

CRIST: It's about 6,000 now. Every individual of those 6,000 now has that peace of mind, doesn't have to worry about their child having a catastrophic illness.

Q: But it's hardly "Cover Florida."

CRIST: Well, I think it's important that it's Cover Families. People who get it like it.

Charlie Crist: Get waste & fraud out of Medicare so program will survive

Q: With all due respect, waste and fraud--people have been talking about it for years. Don't you actually have to make some benefit changes if you're going to deal with this debt issue?

CRIST: You might have to make some, but I think what you want to do first is get the waste and the fraud out.

Q: Such as what?

CRIST: I think you have to have strict enforcement. You have to have U.S. attorneys that go after this with a serious approach and realize that in order for these programs to be able to survive so that my children and my grandchildren have an opportunity to be able to benefit from them, we have to spend less by getting waste and fraud out of these systems.

Charlie Crist: AdWatch: unwavering support of ObamaCare

Let's Get to Work is now running a television ad showing clips of Crist expressing his support for Obama's law.

"Charlie Crist's unwavering support of ObamaCare and its disastrous effects on the 300,000 Floridians that are losing their current health insurance plans is alarming," said the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) on Monday. "Plain and simple, Florida cannot afford Charlie Crist and the liberal Obama agenda."

Charlie Crist: 2007 & 2010: opposed ObamaCare; now supports fixing it

Yet Crist has little choice but to embrace the law right now. Crist needs to prove his Democratic bona fides; the Democratic base approves of the law. "I think it's been great," Crist said in a CNN interview last Sunday.

Gov. Rick Scott's team released a web ad highlighting Crist's support for the law and Pres. Obama's latest backtrack on the law when he admitted some people might not be able to keep their doctors, despite the president's prior promise.

In 2010, Crist said the Medicare Advantage cuts were reason alone to vote against the legislation. Now, as a Democrat, he's using the "keep and fix" argument. "I don't support the cuts to Medicare Advantage," Crist said. "In every major law, there are things you like & things you don't. The President & Congress should fix it."

Connie Mack IV: ObamaCare cuts $700 billion out of your Medicare

Connie Mack IV: Repeal ObamaCare but preserve pre-existing condition rule

Darren Soto: Supports ObamaCare Medicaid expansion in Florida

Duncan Hunter: Romney’s plan has 1,000 mandates; drives up cost by 35%

ROMNEY: We took as many mandates out as we could. And the legislature kept some there. It was a compromise. But the price of the premium for an individual [was] basically cut it in half by deregulating. Congressman, you’re absolutely right that taking regulation out of insurance brings the price down, and that’s why my plan would go state by state, & deregulate them.

Edward Janowski: Dismantle ObamaCare, for personal sovereignty & cost too

A: As far as I am concerned, this is a no-brainer. ObamaCare should never have been allowed to pass and should be immediately dismantled. It was and is an illegal act by a President to force Americans to purchase a product from a third party. The citizens of the United States are sovereign and not subjects to be dictated to, or ruled over by any President. The Senate should be using its Constitutional powers to be controlling interstate commerce, which insurance is, and setting price controls on these out of control corporations, their CEO's, Executives, and Boards of Directors. All of which are profiting greatly, while working class people struggle to pay healthcare costs.

Francis Rooney: Fight to end the disaster known as ObamaCare

Fred Thompson: Less benefits for high-income Medicare beneficiaries

A: Yes. As I think that you have stated them, yes. I don't want to be bound to your exact words, but the principles that you've outlined are absolutely correct.

Greg Steube: Amend state constitution to block ObamaCare in Florida

Amendment to the State Constitution to prohibit compelling any person or employer to provide for health care coverage.
• To preserve the freedom of all residents of the state to provide for their own health care:
• A law may not compel any person or employer to purchase, obtain, or otherwise provide for health care coverage.
• A person or an employer may pay directly for lawful health care services and may not be required to pay penalties for paying directly for lawful health care services.
• A health care provider may accept direct payment for lawful health care services and may not be required to pay penalties for accepting direct payment from a person or an employer for lawful health care services.
• The private market for health care coverage of any lawful health care service may not be abolished by law or rule.

Status:Bill passed House, 80-37-2; passed Senate, 29-10-1. (Greg Steube voted YEA).

Gwen Graham: Quality rural healthcare is vital; fix ObamaCare

We should be focused on cutting costs and working to fix the problems in the Affordable Care Act to better serve patients. There were many important protections included in the law like preventing discrimination based on gender or preexisting conditions and increasing access to preventative care like breast cancer screenings, but the implementation of the law has been a disaster. The bottom line: Republicans are only focused on totally repealing the law, and Democrats are refusing to make the changes North Florida needs.

Gwen Graham: Apply ObamaCare to full-time workers, not 30 hours per week

She was one of a dozen Democrats to vote for the 2015 Save American Workers Act that would have raised ObamaCare's definition of a full-time employee from 30 hours a week to 40. Graham was one of two freshman Democrats to co-sponsor that bill, which Obama vowed to veto and the Congressional Budget Office said would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 500,000 and push more people out of employer-based coverage.

Jeb Bush: Leave research funding to feds, not state

My veto of Senate Bill 330 does not diminish our state's commitment to addressing the important public health issue of fighting and preventing cancer. In conclusion, the appropriation does not fulfill some of the most important criteria by which other appropriations are being evaluated. For these reasons I am withholding my approval of Senate Bill 330, and do hereby veto the same.

Jeb Bush: No physician-assisted suicide

A: No.

Jeb Bush: KidCare and Medikids: expand to 1.6M kids and then even more

In addition to Medicaid, KidCare includes other valuable programs--specifically Medikids, Healthy Kids, and CMS. These non-Medicaid programs provide the critical safety net many parents need to ensure their children are protected. They are not offered as cheaper alternatives for parents who currently buy coverage through their employers. Florida received additional federal funds in January, a bonus for fully using the federal dollars to serve Florida's children in need. The new money will allow us to serve even more children.

Jeb Bush: Move Medicaid from "defined benefit" to defined contribution

The second major change was to provide each person with a risk-adjusted allotment of funds.

Jeb Bush: Provide risk-adjusted premiums (insurance vouchers)

To entice companies to insure some of Florida's sickest and poorest citizens, the state proposed to cap Medicaid benefits, and set a ceiling on spending for each recipient. Managed-care companies and other health-care networks would design alternative health plans that Medicaid patients would use. Beyond that, different managed-care networks could attract patients by offering additional services. However, patients would have a choice only among managed-care plans and no longer have access to traditional fee-for-service health care.

Jeb Bush: Slashed every request for adult mental health

One embarrassing consequence of his lack of attention to social services agencies emerged in the days just before Bush left office when his secretary of the Department of Children and Families was fined and threatened with jail time for failure to provide enough beds to treat county jail inmates with severe mental illness. Records from the department showed that it had called repeatedly for funds for adult health and that Bush had slashed every request--in 1 year by 93% (Hunt, 2006; Rushing, 2006). To avoid court sanctions, the governor was forced to ask the Legislative Budget Commissions, an organization that authorizes appropriations when the legislature itself is not in session, for an additional $16.6 million for hundreds of new beds for these individuals.

Jeb Bush: OpEd: Medicaid reforms won't cover chronic conditions

The governor proposed his plan as a way in which the state could more accurately predict and control its costs. Critics pointed out that no benefits were guaranteed , that access to care for all low-income families was questionable, and that there were no safeguards to make sure that private plans kept their promises. In particular, the AARP questioned whether or not service packages offered by the participants would be meaningful and cover the needs of persons with chronic conditions and special needs that the private market chose not to cover. It also wondered whether the premiums to be offered would be sufficient to purchase an adequate service package.

Jeff Greene: Supports Obamacare

John McCain: Give individuals $2500 refundable tax credits for healthcare

A: Last year, the Medicaid inflation was 10%. No program in the world can survive under that. So of course we want to remove the employer tax, and tax incentives, and move it to the individual. Give the individual a $2,500 refundable tax credit, a family a $5,000 tax credit. If you need to have people in special categories such as congenital diseases, we may have to set up a fund to care for those. But the key is, make health care in America affordable and available. Don't destroy it, as the Democrats want to do.

John Rutherford: ObamaCare is too big, too complex, & too burdensome

Marco Rubio: Launch a marketplace of affordable health insurance

Quality Healthcare at an Affordable Price
• Expanded Choice in Medicaid: Give Medicaid participants control over their own health while encouraging healthy habits
• Secure accountability for quality and costs from hospitals receiving tax support
• Implement Florida Senior Care to allow Florida seniors to remain independent and receive the care they need at home
• Use Transparency to Foster Value-Based Healthcare Decisions
• Create a "one-stop" source of information on assistance for Florida's uninsured
• Reward physicians who use technology like e-prescribing to reduce errors and improve efficiency
• Launch a marketplace of affordable health insurance
• Encourage healthcare providers to expand preventive services and walk-in care for uninsured Floridians
• Help hospitals serve patients with immediate medical problems to avoid emergency departments while still receiving the necessary care

Marco Rubio: Provide alternatives to employer-based insurance system

RUBIO: Well, it's not about moving away. It's about providing an alternative to it.

Q: If you go to Washington, would you work to repeal healthcare reform?

Source: Fox News Sunday 2010 Florida primary Senate debate Mar 28, 2010

Matt Gaetz: Replace ObamaCare with a fiscally responsible system

Mel Martinez: Support Bush's plan to provide prescription drug benefits

CASTOR: The new Medicare law did plenty to enrich the drug companies, but nothing to actually lower drug costs for most seniors. In fact, the new law actually tied Medicare's hands from negotiating for lower prices and it denied our seniors the right to buy high-quality, low-cost drugs from Canada. The government should be required to negotiate for the lowest prices possible. And seniors should get help locating safe and affordable drugs in Canada, until they can get them here at home. I will fight for a meaningful prescription drug plan - one that gives seniors real savings, and doesn't make false promises.

MARTINEZ: I support Bush's plan to provide prescription drug benefits to millions of Americans. It is a good first step in lowering the costs of prescription drugs for seniors. I support any good idea to reduce drug costs so long as we can assure the safety of the drug supply for patients.

Mike Haridopolos: Amend state constitution to block ObamaCare in Florida

Amendment to the State Constitution to prohibit compelling any person or employer to provide for health care coverage.
• To preserve the freedom of all residents of the state to provide for their own health care:
• A law may not compel any person or employer to purchase, obtain, or otherwise provide for health care coverage.
• A person or an employer may pay directly for lawful health care services and may not be required to pay penalties for paying directly for lawful health care services.
• A health care provider may accept direct payment for lawful health care services and may not be required to pay penalties for accepting direct payment from a person or an employer for lawful health care services.
• The private market for health care coverage of any lawful health care service may not be abolished by law or rule.

Status:Bill passed House, 80-37-2; passed Senate, 29-10-1. (Mike Haridopolos voted YEA).

Mike Huckabee: We don't have a healthcare system; it's a healthcare maze

The reality is it's a health crisis, and I would further say that one of the challenges we face is that a lot of the Democrats want to turn it over to the government, while the Republicans want to turn it over completely to the private insurance companies.

I think the better idea is to turn it over to each individual consumer and let him or her make that choice. I trust me a lot more than I trust government or a lot more than I trust the insurance companies.

Mitt Romney: Let states create their own private, market-based insurance

ROMNEY: First of all, I'm not going to give the Democratic legislature credit for the plan that I helped build. I think it's a model that other states can adopt in some respects. But our plan is different than Hillary Clinton's in a lot of important ways. For Democrats, they want to have government take it over. The right answer is to get all of our citizens insured so they don't have to worry about losing their insurance if they change jobs or have a preexisting condition. But Hillary says the federal government's going to tell you what kind of insurance, and it's all government insurance. And I say no, let the states create their own plans, and instead of government insurance, [have] private, market-based insurance. Hillary's plan costs an extra $110 billion. My plan doesn't cost any additional money.

Mitt Romney: Removing most mandates drove down premium cost by half

ROMNEY: We took as many mandates out as we could in our policies. And the legislature kept some there. I tried to take them all out; they put some back in. It was a compromise. They put some mandates there. But, let me tell you how many we got out. The price of the premium for an individual, 42 years old, in Boston, used to $350 a month. Now, it's $180. We basically cut it in half by deregulating. Congressman, you're absolutely right that taking regulation out of insurance brings the price down, and that's why my plan would go state by state, deregulate them so we can get the cost of premiums down. We got the job done.

Mitt Romney: Get everyone some form of catastrophic health coverage

Neal Dunn: Full and immediate repeal of ObamaCare

Nikki Fried: Criticized Florida AG for joining anti-ACA lawsuit

Patrick Murphy: We can improve ObamaCare, but it has hugely positive impact

Patrick Murphy: The Affordable Care Act was a huge step forward for our country and one of the crowning achievements of President Obama's time in office. I am proud to have his endorsement and I am proud to support the ACA. The ACA already provides healthcare to more than a million Floridians, makes prescription drugs more affordable for seniors, and prohibits insurance companies from charging women more just for being women. It also ensures Floridians with pre-existing conditions still receive the care they need. We can build on this progress by expanding Medicaid in Florida to cover 848,000 Floridians without health insurance. While there are of course improvements we can make to the ACA, the law has had a hugely positive impact on Florida and the country. We should work to build off its success and I will always oppose Republican attempts to tear it down.

Philip Levine: Expand Medicaid; give healthcare access to everyone

Rick Scott: AdWatch: "Let's Get to Work" opposing ObamaCare

"Charlie Crist stands with Obama," the female narrator says in one of the ads, titled "Charlie Crist Supports ObamaCare."

The Republican Party of Florida and Scott's committee plan a combined six-figure digital buy.

Earlier, Scott's committee had a broadcast and cable buy for "He's an Opportunist," launched the day Crist--a former Republican and former independent--announced.

Ron DeSantis: No right to health care; that's just a bureaucratic right

DeSantis hasn't laid out a specific platform on health care and has said little about health care policy. His issues page on his website, which was published a week before the primary, doesn't include the subject. In a debate with GOP primary opponent Adam Putnam, he indicated health care wasn't a right.

"What I think you have a right to do is pursue the type of health care you want. ObamaCare infringes on your freedom to be able to do that," DeSantis said. "Democrats are saying that there's a bureaucratic right where you create bureaucracies."

Ron DeSantis: Repeal ObamaCare; health care isn't a right

Ron DeSantis (R): Voted to repeal ACA. No FL Medicaid expansion. Says health care isn't a right. The right is to pursue the type of healthcare you want. ObamaCare infringes on that.

Andrew Gillum (D): Support & strengthen ACA, guarantee care for pre-existing conditions, expand Medicaid in Florida. Work toward "Medicare for all."

Ron DeSantis: Against Medicare-for-all; keep private insurance

Ron DeSantis: COVID: We will not close schools, jobs, businesses

Our efforts saved lives. In fact, 40 states have suffered higher COVID mortality for seniors aged 65+ on a per capita basis than Florida. The cases and hospitalizations for seniors in Florida have plummeted as vaccinations have increased. Florida was right to prioritize the elderly. Seniors First works.

Ron DeSantis: Supports $5000 fines for businesses demanding vaccine proof

Ron Paul: Insurance companies & gov't make healthcare unaffordable

A: Well, we've had managed care, now, for about 35 years. It's not working, and nobody's happy with it. The doctors aren't happy. The patients aren't happy. Nobody seems to be happy--except the corporations, the drug companies and the HMOs.

Ron Paul: Transfer funds from debt & empire-building to healthcare

Ron Paul: Socialized medicine won't work; nor managed care

Rudy Giuliani: Medicare and Medicaid need a private solution

Tom Tancredo: Greater individual opportunity for health savings accounts

Now, if there's a federal role, I completely accept the idea of giving people the greater individual opportunity to use health savings accounts. Why? Because that takes individuals. They become the consumer in the marketplace dealing directly with the provider.

That's called a marketplace. That will drive down the costs. Get the federal government [out]--don't even talk about [government] responsibilities, because they always [would make people think that] naturally the federal government should be involved. It shouldn't.