Issue Position: Healthcare

Issue Position

A strong, affordable healthcare system is crucial for the well-being of the American people. Joe supports the president's Affordable Healthcare Act which provides tens of millions of Americans to have access to healthcare. There are many benefits in this legislation, including eliminating the negative effects of pre-existing conditions on eligibility, allowing children and young adults to stay on their parent's healthcare until age 26, increasing rebates on prescription medicine, and requiring insurers to spend 85% of their money on providing actual care.

The Affordable Care Act also includes provisions that prohibit lifetime limits on care. The new law will also help small businesses, thanks to provisions included that give incentives and funding to small businesses to enact the legislation without significant financial stress to their companies or employee salaries and wages.

By the year 2020, the Medicare "gap", which currently results in higher medicine prices for seniors for a number of years, will be closed, saving significant amounts of taxpayer money. Overall, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the Affordable Care Act will reduce the deficit by tens of billions of dollars over the next decade.

The Affordable Care Act in Florida by the Numbers

*Tax credits for a quarter million small business to provide coverage to workers
*Help for the 271,000 Medicare beneficiaries that received little to no help to defray the costs of prescription drugs
*86,000 young adults will be eligible for healthcare through their parent's employers
*$351 million is available to fund healthcare for uninsured Floridians
*Federal funding for all low-income families and individuals, irrespective of age, disability, or family status

While our extremist Republican governor has vowed not to accept federal funds to help Florida's families, Joe will fight to bring these crucial reforms to our state and to our citizens who need it the most.

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