Florida Democrats pan latest U.S. Senate health care bill

Bill Nelson

Even as people were reviewing copies of the latest version of the U.S. Senate health care bill, Florida Democrats — starting but not ending with Sen. Bill Nelson — panned it.

“This latest Republican health care bill is just as bad as the previous versions. It makes huge cuts to Medicaid, allows insurance companies to hike rates for older Americans and will take coverage away from millions of people. We need to be working together to improve our nation’s health care system, not make it worse. If approved, this bill will hurt a lot of Floridians and for that reason alone,” Nelson said, “I will oppose it.”

Gubernatorial candidates also weighed in, beginning with Chris King.

“The latest version of the Senate’s health care bill is just the same devastating attack on Florida’s families as the last version. It’s still an attack on the most vulnerable among us, including seniors, low-income families, and folks with pre-existing conditions,” King asserted.

“It makes drastic cuts to Medicaid. It allows insurance companies to offer ‘bare bones’ health plans that cover less than the bare minimum required under the ACA. And it puts the Republican Party’s goals ahead of the American people’s livelihood. We must urge our Senators—especially Marco Rubio—to vote no on this bill.”

Reaction will continue to pour in all day; expect updates.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski



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