On Thursday, the fight over health care spilled over to Florida politics after President Barack Obama announced that Americans can keep their insurance policies for another year, even if they do not comply with his federal health-care law.
Gov. Rick Scott, who rose to political prominence in 2009 by opposing the law, ripped into Obama for delaying the problem and insisted there would be other changes coming down the road. Scott also pointed to 300,000 Floridians who are set to lose their current Florida Blue coverage. Florida Blue made the announcement after the new health-care law took effect but downplayed the laws impact on their decision.
The patchwork changes President Obama announced to his health care law today amount to nothing more than kicking the can down the road for 300,000 Florida families who are losing the insurance plans the president told them they could keep, Scott said on Thursday.
What happens to these families in a year? Scott demanded. Will these families still see their insurance costs go up? President Obamas changes to his own law will likely be the first of many. It is a bad law.
Florida House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, swung back at the governor on Thursday. Thurston is battling former Florida Deputy Attorney General George Sheldon for the Democratic nomination to challenge Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in 2014.
By his derogatory remarks today aimed at the president, it seems that the notion of listening to and responding to the needs of constituents is a foreign concept to Governor Scott, Thurston said on Thursday. Why else would Governor Scott react with such hostility?
The Republican governor might want to take caution when accusing others of kicking cans down the road, Thurston added. It could be argued by many working Florida families that its been Governor Scott who has been kicking the middle class in the gut by sitting on the sidelines instead of delivering affordable health care to Floridians.
Thurston defended Obamas health care law which Bondi opposed, supporting a constitutional challenge to it rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Sheldon, who worked in the Obama administration before entering the race, also supports Obamas law.
Florida has the second highest rate of uninsured in America with millions of uninsured residents, so I am proud that President Obama continues to take positive action to help Floridians attain the health coverage they deserve and need, Thurston said on Thursday.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
