How Health Care Reform Will Help Florida's 19th District

The United States spends double the money per capita on health care than any industrialized country on earth – yet over 45 million Americans languish without coverage. In Florida, the number of uninsured people has grown by 15 percent. Today, 20 percent of Floridians have no health insurance. In Florida’s 19th District, 13 percent of residents lack coverage.

As more and more Americans seek care in emergency rooms, hospitals and insurance companies compensate by passing the bill onto consumers and taxpayers in the form of higher costs. In order to cope with higher costs, the health care system will undergo de facto reforms that result in substantial cuts to Medicare and for those with private insurance – higher premiums, co-pays, and fees.

Health care costs have skyrocketed in America, while wages and salaries have stagnated. By the year 2017, health care spending will consume 20 percent of our nation’s GDP – a staggering $4.3 trillion.

The Democratic health care proposal in Congress will put our system back on a sustainable path. This bill will provide significant benefits to the 19th Congressional District of Florida:

Up to 23,400 small businesses in Congressman Wexler’s district could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees.

Seniors, who each year are forced to pay out of pocket for their prescription drugs due to the Medicare donut hole, will finally get relief.

In 2008, health care providers in Florida’s 19th District provided $55 million worth of care to patients without health insurance coverage who were unable to pay their bills. Under this legislation, the costs of uncompensated care like this would be virtually eliminated for health care providers.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this legislation will provide 97 percent of all Americans with affordable coverage. This means that 70,000 people in Florida’s 19th District alone could receive coverage if this crucial legislation passes.

The health care reform package does not increase the deficit. It protects taxpayers by eliminating $500 billion worth of wasteful spending in Medicare and Medicaid. The remainder of the legislation is paid for by a small surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals.  This surtax would not affect 98.3% of taxpayers in Florida’s 19th District.   

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