Career Politician Adam Putnam Has Spent Years Opposing Solutions to the Opioid Crisis

Today, Adam Putnam will attend a roundtable in Jacksonville on addressing the opioid crisis.

What Putnam is likely not to mention at the event is that he has spent more than twenty years in office working to take away Floridians’ access to health care — including care that would have helped those suffering from addiction. Putnam strongly opposes Medicaid expansion — which would, according to a 2016 report, allow more than 300,000 Floridians to gain access to treatment for mental health care and substance abuse. He also has spent years calling for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

“Adam Putnam has been in office for twenty years and consistently opposed solutions that would help Floridians suffering from substance abuse get the care they need,” said FDP spokesperson Kevin Donohoe. “From opposing Medicaid Expansion to supporting Trumpcare, Putnam has spent much of his political career fighting policies that would help Floridians get the care they need. Only a career politician like Adam Putnam would have the nerve to host a roundtable about the opioid crisis while opposing policies that would actually address this epidemic.”

ADAM PUTNAM OPPOSES MEDICAID EXPANSION — WHICH WOULD ALLOW MORE THAN 300,000 FLORIDIANS TO GAIN ACCESS TO TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE

In 2013, Putnam Called Scott’s Plan to Expand Medicaid “Naïve.”

In February 2013, The Tampa Bay Times reported, “Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam openly bashed Gov. Rick Scott’s call to expand Medicaid under the federal health care law, first at a Thursday appearance at the Florida Retail Federation and again in an interview. ‘It is naive at best to think that you would enroll 1 million people in three years and then decide to walk away from the program,’ he said in an interview with Buzz, referring to Scott’s proposal to undo the expansion if the federal government withdraws money or if the Legislature chooses not to renew it. Without using Scott’s name, Putnam implied Scott made his decision for political reasons.” [Miami Herald, 2/21/13]

Report: Medicaid Expansion Would Allow More Than 300,000 Floridians to Gain Access to Treatment for Mental Illness, Substance abuse

“Expanding Medicaid could allow more than 300,000 Floridians to gain access to treatment for mental illness and substance abuse, according to a new federal government report. Some 726,000 people living in Florida have a mental illness or substance abuse disorder but don’t have health insurance, according to the report, released Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” [Miami Herald, 3/28/16]