With New CBO Score Out, Will FL-GOV Candidates Take a Stand on Trumpcare?

CBO: Premiums Would Skyrocket, Markets At Risk in States that Accept Waivers

23 Million Americans At Risk of Losing Insurance 

Today, a new Congressional Budget Office report shows the American Health Care Act will lead to significant premium increases and 23 million Americans losing coverage. According to the CBO, a 64-year-old Floridian could see premiums increase by 800% – from $1,700 to $13,600.

Now that the data are in: will Florida’s Republican candidates for governor finally declare where they stand on Trumpcare?  Adam Putnam and Richard Corcoran still aren’t saying. 

Implementation of the bill would fall directly on the governor’s desk. Under the proposed bill, in 2019, Florida’s next governor would be able to accept a waiver that could increase costs for 3,116,000 Floridians with pre-existing conditions.

The CBO also reports that if Florida’s next governor accept waivers, Floridians with pre-existing conditions would no longer be able to afford coverage. The CBO wrote: “people who are less healthy (including those with preexisting or newly acquired medical conditions) would ultimately be unable to purchase comprehensive nongroup health insurance at premiums comparable to those under current law, if they could purchase it at all.” And, the CBO reports that waivers could cause Florida’s nongroup market to become “unstable.”

“Now we know that the House health care bill means higher costs and less coverage for Floridians,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “It’s time for Putnam and Corcoran to tell Florida voters exactly where they stand on Trumpcare. Are Putnam and Corcoran too afraid of Trump to speak up?” 

###

Background:

Putnam “Deflected a Question about Whether He Would, As Governor, Invoke a States’ Waiver.” According to Florida Politics, “He also deflected a question about whether he would, as governor, invoke a states’ waiver included in the American Health Care Act to opt Florida out of having to cover pre-existing conditions. As a former member of Congress, Putnam expressed skepticism that the waiver will still be in the bill when it leaves the U.S. Senate, and said he hopes the final bill includes coverage for pre-existing conditions.” [Florida Politics, 5/16/17]

Corcoran Praised Flexibility of the AHCA, but Did Not Comment Directly on Pre-Existing Conditions Waivers. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, “Among those cheering more flexibility was Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who has proposed a plan to use Medicaid money to help subsidize private health insurance for poor people. ‘When you have a free-market health care system, all of those type of avenues pop up and are available for use.’” [Tallahassee Democrat, 5/4/17]