As the 2015 legislative session enters its closing weeks, Florida Democrats are launching a “We Demand a Vote” campaign to urge the House to take an up or down vote on the Senate’s Medicaid expansion plan. Democrats, business groups, health care workers, and the health care industry support expanding access to affordable health care, and the Senate Republicans have finally come around. House Republicans, on the other hand, have embraced the petulant stance of burying their heads in the sand, ignoring the or misrepresenting the facts, and refusing to do their jobs — no matter the cost to Floridians.
The House GOP, led by Rep. Richard Corcoran, are determined to send Florida off the cliff in an effort to score points with the Tea Party. Lives are on the line, and House Republicans say they are at “war” against the commonsense, bipartisan solution backed by businesses, health care workers and advocates, and the health care industry as a whole. That is a dereliction of their duty. 800,000 Floridians, including tens of thousands of veterans, deserve access to affordable health care. It will lower the costs for all Floridians, and ease the burdens placed on our health care system by uncompensated care.
Over the next few weeks, Florida Democrats will continue to hold Richard Corcoran, Rick Scott, and their “immoral minority” accountable for their reckless actions that embody everything Floridians hate about politics.
Democrats are calling on the House Republican leadership to put their money where there mouth is and call a vote on the Senate’s plan.
It’s time to let the 800,000 Floridians who go without affordable care know who stands with them and who stands against them. It’s time to let Florida businesses know which House members are in favor of helping businesses obtain $250 million in savings by expanding Medicaid and which are not. It’s time for the health care industry to know which Republicans want to let hospitals face dangerous budget shortfalls. And, most of all, it’s time for all Floridians to know exactly which elected officials place political grandstanding over bipartisan, commonsense compromise that actually gets things done.
It’s time for a vote.