Reps. JOHN RUTHERFORD (R-FL4) and RONALD DEON DeSANTIS (R-FL6/KOCH INDUSTREIS), two local Republican Congressman elected from Districts including St. Johns County voted to kill health care rights this week.
Meanwhile, St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee member Dr. Michel S. Pawlowski, D.Sci. persuaded five St. Augustine Beach Commissioners to vote themselves health care.
Posted May 5, 2017 12:01 am - Updated May 5, 2017 05:27 am
By SHELDON GARDNER sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com
Rutherford, DeSantis vote for health care overhaul
U.S. Representatives whose districts include parts of St. Johns County both voted Thursday in favor of the Republican health care bill called the American Health Care Act
The revised bill, which the House passed, “would rework subsidies for private insurance, limit federal spending on Medicaid for low-income people and cut taxes on upper-income individuals used to finance Obama’s overhaul,” according to the Associated Press. It’s also expected to lead to 24 million fewer people having insurance coverage by 2026 than Obama’s 2010 law, according to a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimate cited by the AP.
U.S. Representatives John Rutherford and Ron DeSantis both voted in favor of the bill.
As of Thursday morning, though, it was unclear how each would vote, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Rutherford issued a statement Thursday after voting.
“After seven years of broken promises, it is clear that Obamacare is on the path to collapse and the American people are paying the price. … It is not working and we must act,” according to Rutherford. “I promised the people of Northeast Florida that we would protect them from this misguided law, and today we have voted to do just that.”
According to Rutherford, the American Health Care Act will repeal Obamacare mandates to purchase plans, and maintain coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
“While this represents a big step toward the market-based reforms needed to make health care more affordable and accessible for all, we must continue to drive down the cost of health care,” according to Rutherford. “I will continue working to increase access to quality, affordable health care for every Northeast Florida family.”
Republicans in the Senate, where the bill is now headed, still have “widespread disagreement” on the health care issue, according to the Washington Post.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson also issued a statement on Thursday.
“This Republican health care plan will increase costs for older Americans, cut Medicaid and take us back to the days when it was nearly impossible for anyone with a pre-existing condition to get health insurance. This bill takes health care coverage away from tens of millions of people, and I’m not going to support it.”
Comments
Tom Reynolds
Vote them OUT 2018 !
Cheating Old People Does Not Work HERE or anywhere !
ROSE EDWARDS
You honestly believe this story. It's false. There is not one indication of elderly paying higher fees. This is fake news. They didn't tell you that the People that will not be insured any long are the one's that do not want coverage but are forced to take it under obama care. Did you know that many stated don't even have coverage right now, and many insurance companies dropped out, and Dr's do not except this coverage. The republicans need to fix it, and replace it. President Trump believes in competition for insurance and prescriptions. That's the only way to go.Vote republican
Deborah Testa
As a Registered Republican I am telling you that this bill, as passed is total TRASH, and will essentially leave millions unable to obtain affordable healthcare. You obviously believe you are all set--- perhaps you are watching Fox News or reading Breitbart. This bill should be dubbed the TDB Bill (Trump Death and Bankruptcy Bill). And for those who obtain health insurance through work or their retirement plan, there are all sorts of surprises for you too-- just wait until 2020 -- after the election to get hit between the eyes on preexisting conditions and new caps:
ROSE EDWARDS
It's false. There is not one indication of elderly paying higher fees. This is fake news. They didn't tell you that the People that will not be insured any long are the one's that do not want coverage but are forced to take it under obama care.
Deborah Testa
I strongly suggest that people go out and do the fact check themselves on these issues. It's pretty clear that many older Americans and those with preexisting conditions will be priced out of the market as it relates to healthcare.
Deborah Testa
The bill, as passed is total TRASH, and will essentially leave millions unable to obtain affordable healthcare. It's time to unseat Rutherford and DeSantis as well as everyone in the congress. They are all party- puppets. We need representation that truly reflects the views of constituents. When all reps vote on party lines and ignore the pleas from their constituency the system is broken folks.
Kelly Sullivan
If the Affordable Care Act is on its way to collapse, it is because our lawmakers have led us down that path. In 2008, House Speaker Marco Rubio convinced Florida lawmakers to set aside millions to create a web-based insurance exchange that would provide Floridians a side-by-side comparison of health plans. After the ACA was enacted two years later, Florida lawmakers set about a strategy to ensure the law's failure rather than building upon the legislatively recognized value of the underpinnings of the ACA. New Mexico's exchange is flourishing because its Republican-led politicians embraced the new law. The ACA has resulted in less than 2% annual increase in premiums instead of greater than 8% annual increases before the law was passed. And, what about progress in health outcomes? The ACA requires Providers to report outcomes so that progress can be measured toward improved health of populations. Failure to achieve certain core measures results in reduction in payments. Healthcare provided in the U.S. is the worst of industrialized nations. We can do better. Did Rutherford or DeSantis READ the Bill? If so, did they UNDERSTAND it? Oh, yes...they must have because their health plan was exempted.
Nigel Owens
"There is not one indication of elderly paying higher fees."
That is partly true. Just because the new Replican healthcare/tax cut bill allows insurers to charges the elderly 5 times the rate of younger customers (Obamacare was 3 times) doesn't mean the insurers will take advantage of that new gifted source of revenue. I am sure all the "competition for expensive to cover old people will drastically drive the premiums down. Yeah, that's it... Nudge, nudge, wink, wink...
How the Replicans can say with a straight face that "everybody will be covered" after removing 75% of the funding for Medicaid and healthcare subsidies is beyond me.
The worst of all is the pre-existing conditions lie. Nothing changes, they say as long as states don't request and get a waiver from the Emperor Cheeto's HHS secretary, what a lie! Does anybody really believe that Replican governors will not line up for waivers so they can get fat perks from insurance companies so they can financially bleed out customers with pre-existing conditions. With John Kasich being the exception, he's actually human.
It's all good though, once voters see the carnage invoked with this bill, they will be out power for a decade or more
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