Politics & Government

Scott: Florida Won't Comply with ObamaCare

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said, despite the Supreme Court's ruling, Florida would not comply with President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Despite a that President Barack Obama's Affordable Health Care Act is constitutional, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said the Sunshine State would not comply with two parts of the law. 

The two provisions Scott said Florida would not comply with are the expansion of Medicaid for the poor and creating a private insurance exchange. 

According to the news service Reuters;

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Scott said expansion of Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, would cost $1.9 billion while the state has other health programs in place. Premiums would rise on the insurance exchange, he said.

“Floridians are interested in jobs and economic growth, a quality education for their children, and keeping the cost of living low,” Scott said in a news release. “Neither of these major provisions in ObamaCare will achieve those goals, and since Florida is legally allowed to opt out, that’s the right decision for our citizens.”

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Scott released a statement on July 1 stating the free market could better serve the health of Florida citizens than the Federal government. 

"The real problem with health care is that costs continue to rise. That’s why I believe we need more choice for patients, more free-market competition, increased accountability for providers, and incentives for personal responsibility.

These are the things we can do that will hold down health care costs and make it affordable for more people. Unfortunately, ObamaCare doesn’t do any of those things. In Florida, we are focused on becoming the No. 1 place for businesses so that Floridians have more jobs.”

Last Thursday when the Supreme Court made its ruling, multiple Florida politicians including Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Bill Nelson . 

"A lot of us feel the health-care law wasn’t perfect, but it was needed," Nelson said. "Our system was broken and we had to do something. Insurance companies were refusing to cover people or dropping those who got sick. So, we passed legislation to prevent insurers from running roughshod over people.  And today, the Supreme Court upheld most of these reforms. Now, I think it’s time we finish the job of fixing our economy and creating more jobs."


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