Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorAugust 4, 2014

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The state is not doing its job to protect consumers from health insurance rate hikes. After passing up billions of dollars from the federal government for the state to expand Medicaid, Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-controlled Legislature callously enacted a new law that, in essence, prevents the state’s insurance commissioner from regulating health insurance […]

Marc YachtAugust 4, 2014

I recently attended the Florida Medical Association annual meeting, where the organization develops policies for the coming year. The legislative agenda is drafted and approved. FMA delegates from the specialty groups and county medical societies will vote on each resolution coming before the House. FMA lobbyists will then bring approved policy to Florida’s legislators and […]

Marc YachtJuly 16, 2014

There is controversy as to who said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” Perhaps Mark Twain, perhaps British Prime Minister Disraeli, but few would argue the meaning. Politicians twist data all the time and with Obamacare, the misinformation reaches new levels. While conservatives try to destroy the Affordable Care Act […]

Guest AuthorJune 15, 2014

Gov. Rick Scott has signed the state budget, the only legislative enactment that has to become law. In so doing, he went light with his veto pen, not wanting to offend any legislators by killing any pet projects. A large stack of bills remains on his desk. He will sign most, veto a few and […]

Guest AuthorJune 10, 2014

The jury is still out on the Bowe Bergdahl case but the verdict is in. Bergdahl is a traitor. The five Talibani prisoners we swapped for him are the most dangerous people on the planet and we’ll pay the price on the battle field. The Obama administration pulled a fast one by keeping Congress in […]

Guest AuthorJune 1, 2014

Take your blinders off: This is why the Koch Brothers and radical-right groups will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the 2014 midterm elections, why Gov. Rick Scott wants to raise $100 million to get re-elected — and how you can defeat them. If the Tea Party-GOP gains control of the U.S. Senate, Sen. […]

Marc YachtJune 1, 2014

The American tragedy continues with six collegians killed in the sleepy college town of Isla Vista, Calif. The deranged murderer then took his own life after a shooting and stabbing rampage. The father of one of the victims lashed out at the NRA, politicians and all those who impede gun restrictions. In Florida, bullets sent […]

Guest AuthorMay 28, 2014

Like a small handful of Floridians, I’ve been watching the redistricting hearing in Tallahassee over the U.S. Congressional district maps. As someone who drew and submitted maps, some of which were accepted by the Legislature, I am bemused by the efforts to focus on the politics surrounding the creation of the maps, but not on […]

Marc YachtMay 20, 2014

After 753 failed votes to defund Obamacare, weary Republicans have rolled out their long-awaited health plan. Entitled “Perfect Health for All Americans Act,” the House Speaker raised the one-page document above his head to cheering supporters. The logo on the plan showed an eagle perched on a red cross between two American flags. “In God […]

Martin DyckmanMay 8, 2014

There has been some good news and bad news on the health-care front. The funny thing is, it’s the same news. A study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that the death rate in Massachusetts among people 20 to 64 dropped dramatically after it adopted the nation’s first universal health care law in […]

Tag: obamacare

Bill Nelson: Florida GOP to blame for health insurance rate hikes

Marc Yacht: Florida Medical Association supports expansion of Medicaid

Marc Yacht: Eventually, voters will punish politicians who fought Obamacare

John Grant: The Scott vs. Crist campaign is going to be ugly and expensive

Doug Clifton: Bergdahl case: Another GOP-inflated controversy to discredit Obama

Stephen Goldstein: Will the Koch Brothers own Florida in November?

Marc Yacht: Blame mass killings on lax gun laws, poor mental-health care

Henry Kelley: Tallahassee trial won’t result in fair voting districts in Florida

Marc Yacht: Republican one-page plan solves the health-care conundrum!!

Martin Dyckman: Drop in death rate is good news (or bad), depending on one’s politics