Rick Scott: Healthcare must be affordable. Let’s fix it, starting with my bill | Opinion
Affordable health care
Re: the Dec. 16 Miami Herald online letter by Nick Limner, “Dear Sen. Scott, I supported you, but your inaction on healthcare is hurting me.”
It’s heartbreaking to see Floridians struggle to afford health care, as Limner described. Growing up, my family was poor. My mother drove hours to the nearest charity hospital so my brother, who had a hip disease, could receive care. It shouldn’t be this hard for Americans to get health care that’s affordable and works for them. I want to fix that.
Yes, Democrats created Obamacare, but Republicans must fix it. If we don’t, we’re just rubber-stamping what we all acknowledge is a broken system full of broken promises.
That’s why I’m working to pass my More Affordable Care Act that implements many ideas Limner mentioned — and more. My bill would drive down costs by allowing Americans to make decisions and empowering them with the information they need to make the best health care choices for their families. Obamacare would still exist, exchanges would still exist and protections for pre-existing conditions would continue, but we’d change the system from one that enriches insurance companies to one that works for families.
My plan gives families safety-net dollars through HSA-style accounts to pay for premiums so that they, not insurance companies, can buy the plan that fits their needs. It creates more options and competition by allowing families to shop across state lines to find the best plan for them. And it adds transparency by requiring up-front pricing for health care procedures, prescriptions, etc., so families can understand and plan their expenses.
We can pass this bill today to bring change that will drive down costs for families. Floridians deserve solutions and a government that works for them. I’m fighting every day to deliver that.
Rick Scott,
U.S. Senator,
Naples
Neediest to greediest
Pulitzer Prizes should be awarded to the news reporters who braved secrecy, deceit and obstruction for their exhaustive article on Gov. Ron DeSantis and his minions, regarding the diversion of taxpayer money to fund the abortion and marijuana ban campaigns of 2024.
The reporters’ perseverance and sleuthing merit more than just kudos. Ditto to the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald for supporting the proverbial guards to the hen house, in whose absence the political miscreants would drain even more from the public trough.
L. Gabriel Bach,
Key Biscayne
A legal giant
In the early morning hours of Dec. 19, a great lawyer and humanitarian named Mel Black passed. He was my lifelong friend and mentor.
I came to know Mel as my ethics professor at Nova Law Center in 1979. From that point forward, we maintained a professional and personal relationship that I treasure as one of the most influential of my entire life and career as a criminal defense lawyer.
Although Mel was recognized as one of the best lawyers of his generation, in many ways he was one of those unsung heroes whose contributions to the profession and to the community at large were not fully known or appreciated. But he was a giant. Humble to a fault and never calling attention to himself, he went about the business of being a great trial lawyer in his calm and dignified way.
He was a remarkable lawyer but even more a remarkable human being with a love and compassion for his community that set, at least for me, the standard by which all lawyers should measure themselves. He not only possessed a brilliant legal mind, he had that Lincolnian quality to him that allowed him in his quiet and calm way to persuade others as to the righteousness of his cause.
Wherever Mel saw inequality and injustice he acted. Together with his friend, professor Steve Wisotsky, he sued in federal court the Dade County Jail, a lawsuit that lasted 25 years and that led to improvements in the living conditions of that facility.
This litigation required thousands of hours of free legal representation to the inmate class. He successfully litigated before the 11th Circuit the issues of juvenile detention in our juvenile court system. At each turn of his life, our community and our profession was made better because of this man, Mel Black.
I shall miss him very much.
Arturo V. Hernandez
Coral Gables
Fraudulent state
Government corruption in Florida is so rampant it makes New Jersey politicians look good. What has been uncovered in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is the manipulation of millions in taxpayer funds for dubious pet projects and scams.
Honesty and trust in our elected officials depend on us. Until we, the voters, elect candidates based on integrity and not political parties, these situations will never improve.
If you need more motivation to vote, just look at Tallahassee today; it’s an embarrassment.
John Bonano,
Gulfport
Body image
Taking a long look in the mirror before you accept what weight loss has done to your appearance is paramount. That being said, we’ve always attempted to take some weight off to enhance our looks. This is especially true of TV celebrities.
However, I am disturbed by the sickly look of many celebrities after they’ve shed many pounds. I suggest they be careful during their “healthy” attempt to lose a few pounds.
Diane Goodman Dolcourt,
Pinecrest
Not blending in
Re: the Dec. 16 letter by Eduardo Montalvo, “Becoming American.” While I agree with the importance of assimilation for any immigrant group, I cannot agree that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is correct on anything.
Perhaps Montalvo is not old enough to know all the efforts made in providing assistance during the early years of Cuban exile in the 1960s, such as English courses for new arrivals; special courses to help Cuban professionals revalidate their expertise and be licensed to provide medical, dental, accountancy and other services; and a loan program to help Cubans attend universities.
Given that the Trump administration has reduced or eliminated similar assistance programs to help most immigrants assimilate, it is obvious that for Miller, the attack on immigrants not assimilating is a self-fulfilling prophecy!
I hope Montalvo learns that Miller is not a friend of any immigrant of color – assimilated or not.
Juan A. Galan, Jr.,
Coral Gables
Sustainable vacation
An open letter to Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister: In addition to opening Jamaica to conventional tourism, perhaps now is the time to consider Restorative Tourism, an emerging approach to tourism that emphasizes ecological restoration, community engagement and leaving a destination in a better state than before the visit.
Jamaica is a respected and well-known country around the world; a quick poll would reveal young and old, individuals and groups more than willing to participate in restoration, should the infrastructure to do so be in place.
Betsy Sharp,
Miami
High seas murder
As an American Army veteran, a conservative and a lawyer, I am terribly disappointed in the U.S. House vote against the war powers resolution on Venezuela. While I agree that President Nicolás Maduro is a despot running a narco-regime, I am appalled and ashamed that my country is committing war crimes with that as an excuse.
Even if convicted by a court of law, capital punishment cannot be imposed on a drug trafficker. Worse, no facts to substantiate the claims that the boats were carrying drugs nor any legal justification for killing their occupants has even been offered.
Allegedly, the Justice Department has blessed it. Now, a House majority has done the same. I am unaware of any legal authority that would deem it anything but murder. The claim that they are “combatants” in some pseudo war is frivolous nonsense.
I served active duty when U.S. Army officer William L. Calley, Jr. was convicted of killing South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre of 1968. A colleague was reassigned to Fort McPherson for the post trial review. That was an actual war and his conviction was upheld. I see no meaningful distinction for these killings.
R. Thomas Farrar,
Miami