Expand Medicaid in Florida; work toward Medicare-for-All
Q: Support or Repeal ACA, aka ObamaCare? Accept ACA's Medicaid expansion to subsidize low-income participants?
Ron DeSantis (R): Voted to repeal ACA. No FL Medicaid expansion. Says health care isn't a right. The right is to pursue the
type of healthcare you want. ObamaCare infringes on that.
Andrew Gillum (D): Support & strengthen ACA, guarantee care for pre-existing conditions, expand Medicaid in Florida. Work toward "Medicare for all."
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Florida Governor race
, Oct 9, 2018
Medicare-for-All, paid $1B restoration of corporate tax cuts
Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum acknowledged that his "Medicare for all" plan would require increasing taxes on corporations in his home state.
Gillum said that he would "absolutely not raise taxes on everyday working
Floridians" to institute the proposal. Pressed on whether wealthier Floridians would see a tax hike, he said corporations would front the plan.
"We will increase taxes for corporations in our state who, right now, just so you are aware, only
3% of companies in the state of Florida pay the corporate tax rate. And that 3% under the Donald Trump tax scam got a windfall of $6.3 billion overnight due to the tax reform that took place in Washington, DC," Gillum said.
"We're not asking for all of it," he continued. "We simply said we believe that we ought to bring a billion of that money back into the state's government because being a cheap-date state has not worked for the state of Florida."
Medicare for all: universal health care is a right
Gillum has campaigned on a platform of "Medicare for all" that a key supporter, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, has pushed at the federal level. He also says universal health care is a right. As governor, he's pledged to expand Medicaid in line with the
Affordable Care Act, and to guarantee care for those with pre-existing conditions.
Much of that platform will be difficult to achieve with a Republican-controlled Legislature, where leaders in the House have rejected Medicaid expansion after
protracted battles.
[Republican gubernatorial opponent Ron] DeSantis hasn't laid out a specific platform on health care and has said little about health care policy. His issues page on his website, which was published a
week before the primary, doesn't include the subject. In a debate with GOP primary opponent Adam Putnam, he indicated health care wasn't a right.
Gov. Scott's complicity in the development of the Trump Health Care Plan is unacceptable. TrumpCare is nothing more than a tax cut for millionaires that raises costs on everyone else. Here in Florida, we never received the opportunity to benefit from
the full impact of ObamaCare, because Gov. Scott refused to extend Medicaid to over one million Floridians.
As Governor, Andrew will work to expand Medicaid and strengthen the Affordable Care Act. Andrew has proposed passing a Florida law protecting
people with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage, being charged more for their care due to a pre-existing condition, or women being charged more than men. As Governor, Andrew will restore Floridians' healthcare security--the knowledge that
if something horrible happens to a loved one that they'll be taken care of. If they were born with a genetic disorder or chronic illness, that they won't be denied coverage, or face the inhumane choice between bankruptcy or healthcare.
A: Strongly Support--As Governor, Andrew will work to expand Medicaid and strengthen the Affordable Care Act. Andrew believes that healthcare should be a fundamental right, not a privilege.
Floridians struggle everyday to keep themselves and their families from going bankrupt due to the cost of healthcare. Andrew believes that Senator Sanders' Medicare for All plan will help lower costs and expand coverage to more Floridians.
Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Florida Governor candidate
, Jun 15, 2018
Healthcare should be a fundamental right
Andrew believes that healthcare should be a fundamental right, not a privilege. Instead, extreme politicians refuse to acknowledge that Floridians struggle everyday to keep themselves and their families from going bankrupt due to the lack or cost of
healthcare. Andrew believes that Senator Sanders' Medicare for All plan will help lower costs and expand coverage to more Floridians.
TrumpCare is nothing more than a tax cut for millionaires that cuts healthcare for millions and raises costs on
everyone else. Here in Florida, we never received the opportunity to benefit from the full impact the Affordable Care Act, because Gov. Scott refused to extend Medicaid to over one million Floridians. Andrew will work to expand Medicaid and strengthen
the Affordable Care Act. Andrew has proposed passing a Florida law protecting people with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage, being charged more for their care due to a pre-existing condition, or women being charged more than men.