Washington, DC – After Florida Governor Rick Scott made one of the most outrageous and out-of-touch comments to date about the Trump Department of Justice’s new salvo in Republicans’ war on pre-existing condition protections, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:
“Rick Scott served as a key advisor to the Trump administration’s repeal push last summer that would have gutted protections for the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions — including nearly eight million Floridians. After failing to repeal the law in Congress, the Trump Administration just took their latest and most dangerous step yet to repeal and sabotage our care, asking the courts to repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with preexisting conditions – and as usual, Rick Scott refuses to stand up for the people in harm’s way.
“Rick Scott’s ally, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, is one of the leaders of this dangerous anti-Affordable Care Act lawsuit. If the Trump DOJ and Pam Bondi win their case, protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions will disappear overnight, and insurance companies will once again be allowed to deny overage or stick people with exorbitant medical bills. Asked for comment on providing affordable access to health care for those with pre-existing conditions, Scott implied that these people don’t deserve to have coverage, saying: ‘We’ve got to reward people for caring for themselves.’ This heartless comment is a new low point in Rick Scott’s long history of undermining health care for millions of Americans.”
RICK SCOTT HELPED DESIGN REPUBLICAN REPEAL EFFORTS THAT WOULD JEOPARDIZE ACCESS TO CARE FOR UP TO 130 MILLION AMERICANS WHO HAVE A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION
HEADLINE: “Florida’s Rick Scott Says He’s Helping Trump Craft Replacement Health Care Plan.” [McClatchy, 1/18/17]
Rick Scott Was An Advisor To The Trump Administration On Plans To Repeal The ACA. “ Kicking off a series of meetings with incoming Trump administration officials, Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday he hopes to help them devise a less costly alternative to Obamacare. Scott said he’s talking with Donald Trump every week or two while working closely with Rep. Tom Price, the president-elect’s choice to run the government agency that oversees Medicaid, Medicare and the landmark 2010 health-insurance law.” [McClatchy, 1/18/17]
Rick Scott Continued To Push For Repeal Even After It Failed In The Senate. “Gov. Rick Scott, whose political career is largely defined by opposition to the Affordable Care Act, still wants Republicans to repeal the federal health care law despite their apparent failure to do so. ‘Floridians simply cannot afford the high taxes and mandates of Obamacare. This law needs to be repealed,’ Scott spokeswoman Kerri Wyland said in an emailed statement. […] Since November, Scott has written four op-eds stressing the urgency of repealing Obamacare. ‘There is absolutely no question that Obamacare must be repealed immediately so Americans can actually afford to purchase health insurance,’ Scott wrote.” [Orlando Sentinel, 7/18/17]
Rick Scott Urged Repeal Of The ACA On “Day One” Of The Trump Administration. “Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is ramping up pressure on Republicans in Congress to aggressively and immediately pursue a repeal of ObamaCare, despite any politically damaging effects. Scott said he made the case for a swift, full repeal of the healthcare law during a meeting Tuesday with Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. ‘I want to have a repeal as quickly as we can get it done. Day one would be nice for me,’ Scott told reporters outside a downtown Washington, D.C., building being used by Trump’s transition team.” [The Hill, 12/13/16]
Rick Scott Called The AHCA “Way Better Than Obamacare” And Said He Would Do “Everything I Can” To Pass It. “Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday the failed GOP health care bill was ‘way better than Obamacare’ and that he remains optimistic President Trump and Congress can get it done. ‘I’m going to do everything I can,’ Scott told Tampa Bay Times reporter Steve Contorno after an event in Tampa . ‘I talked to Secretary Price at HHS. I’ve been working with HHS to get more flexibility in our Medicaid program so we can provide care that our taxpayers can afford. I’m going to keep working with the president and vice president and I’m optimistic something will happen.’ ‘The House bill was way better than Obamacare,’ said Scott.” [Tampa Bay Times, 3/30/17]
REPUBLICAN REPEAL BILLS GUTTED PROTECTIONS FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
The AHCA Allowed A Surcharge For People With Pre-Existing Conditions. The American Health Care Act would have allowed states to eliminate community rating, meaning insurers would be able to charge people with pre-existing conditions more. This surcharge could have been in the tens of thousands of dollars and even six figures: up to $4,270 for asthma, $17,060 for pregnancy, $26,180 for rheumatoid arthritis and $140,510 for metastatic cancer.
Graham-Cassidy Would Raise Costs For People With Pre-Existing Conditions. Graham-Cassidy would allow states to let insurance companies once again charge people with pre-existing conditions more, which could raise costs for up to 7,810,300 Floridians that have a pre-existing condition. For example, an individual with asthma would face a premium surcharge of $4,340. The surcharge for pregnancy would be $17,320, while it would be $142,650 more for patients with metastatic cancer.
NOW RICK SCOTT IS DODGING QUESTIONS ABOUT TRUMP’S LAWSUIT TO UNDO PROTECTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
HEADLINE: “Scott Mum On Trump’s Attack On Pre-existing Condition Provision” [Politico, 6/11/18
Florida’s Attorney General Joined The Suit To Undo Protections For People With Pre-Existing Conditions. “[Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi signed on this year to the lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act. The litigation gained new urgency last week after the Trump administration said it would not defend key portions of the law. Whitney Ray, a spokesman for Bondi, said the attorney general believes people with pre-existing conditions should have access to coverage. ‘But Congress must act in accordance with the U.S. Constitution when addressing the issue,’ Ray said in a written statement.” [WUSF, 6/14/18]
June 13: Rick Scott Refused To Say Whether He Supported Trump’s Lawsuit. “Gov. Rick Scott would not directly say Wednesday whether he supports a Trump administration move that critics say could wipe away health care protections for pre-existing conditions — a cornerstone of Obamacare — while saying he believes such protections are needed.” [Tampa Bay Times, 6/13/18]
June 11: Scott Refused To Criticize The Trump Administration Lawsuit. “Gov. Rick Scott said he supports insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions, but he declined on Monday to criticize the Trump administration’s court effort to gut the provision from Obamacare. The Trump administration on Thursday sided with conservative states seeking to do away with the Affordable Care Act’s ban on insurers charging people more or denying them coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Though the action to further attack Obamacare in the courts generated significant publicity and could affect as many as seven million Floridians, Scott said he didn’t know enough about it to comment fully. ‘I don’t know much about that court case and I heard — somebody just said — that the president tweeted something or did something about that,” Scott said at an event in South Florida on Monday.’” [Politico, 6/11/18]
Rick Scott On Care For People With Pre-existing Conditions: “We’ve Got To Reward People For Caring For Themselves.” “‘I believe that if you have a pre-existing condition, you need to still be able to get health care, so it’s very important to me,’ Scott told reporters in Tallahassee. ‘I think everybody ought to be able to get health care insurance. I do believe that you’ve got to start working to fix the law and that law caused our premiums to skyrocket. But I don’t believe in grand bargains, I believe in incrementally trying to make change. We’ve got a lot more competition … We’ve got to reward people for caring for themselves.’” [Tampa Bay Times, 6/13/18]