Rick Scott and Donald Trump’s Obamacare vendetta costing Florida
The Florida Democratic Party has claimed in a press release issued yesterday that following President Donald Trump’s executive order to end cost-sharing reduction payments by the federal government, Floridians are already getting hit by rising insurance premiums.
The payments or subsidies payed to insurance companies were an original component of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) signed by former President Obama in 2011. Through these subsidies the insurance companies participating in the ACA was able to offer lower than normal premiums to customers who purchased healthcare policies under the program.
Florida will be particularly hard hit with the removal of the subsidies to the insurance companies as over 1.2 million Floridians received cost-sharing reductions, reflected in lower premiums out of 5.6 million Americans in 2016.
That is 71percent of ACA marketplace enrollees in Florida who are receiving cost-sharing reductions.
Governor Rick Scott who has been a longtime advocate for the dismantling of Obamacare, refused to expand Medicaid for purely political reasons, and has advertised himself as a chief architect of Trumpcare.
“Floridians are being hit by higher premiums for one reason: Donald Trump and Rick Scott want to dismantle Obamacare more than they want to fix health care. While Rick Scott and Donald Trump are playing politics and deliberately sabotaging the American health care system, working families are paying for it. Florida needs a leader that will stand up to Donald Trump’s reckless policy making—not encourage it. If Rick Scott really wanted to stand up for Florida families, he would fight Donald Trump’s executive order and urge Congress to pass a bipartisan solution on health care.” said Florida Democratic Party spokesperson Johanna Cervone.
