Healthcare

Healthcare is a human right. In a sane world and sane system, any American should be able to visit any doctor of his or her choice if they feel sick and pay nothing at the point of service. Such a system would only be possible under “Medicare for All” which would eliminate co-pays, deductibles, and premiums. This system would have many benefits for Americans and Floridians. It would save the nation over $5 trillion in healthcare spending over 10 years, tens of millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans would receive quality comprehensive health insurance, pharmaceutical drug prices would fall, working-class families would see their healthcare costs cut, and save up to 45,000 lives per year. Florida would see tens of billions of federal dollars pumped into our economy and 2.7 million uninsured Floridians would receive the quality healthcare they deserve.

A “Medicare for All” system is incredibly difficult for one state to achieve on its own. It is our campaign’s mission to do everything in our power to build toward a “Medicare for All” system for the State of Florida. The quickest, most cost-effective plan to achieve this goal would be to accept the Federal Medicaid Expansion policy created by the Affordable Care Act under President Obama. Expanding Medicaid in Florida would create numerous benefits such as

• 800,000 people gain health insurance over 5 years

• $14.3 billion in total funding to the state over 5 years ($2.1B per year)

• $901.2 million in savings over 5 years ($161.9M per year)

As stipulated by the Affordable Care Act, the federal government has already allocated the funds to pay for 90% of the cost of expansion for each state legislature. Leaving the remaining 10% to be covered by the states. In Florida’s case, the cost would be $81M per year or $516.4M over 5 years. However, this cost would easily be covered by the savings Florida would experience due to the expansion of Medicaid. Current Medicaid beneficiaries such as pregnant women and adults with disabilities would be converted from traditional Medicaid to the new Medicaid expansion program. With the Medicaid Expansion, the Federal government would cover more of the cost of current Medicaid beneficiaries (90% vs. 61.5%) which would allow Florida to save $161.9 per year or $901.2 mil over 5 years. Which is more than enough to cover the increased cost of expanding Medicaid.

Floridians deserved Medicaid Expansion years ago and now during a global pandemic, the decision to not ensure every Floridian and American have adequate healthcare is deadly.