2010 Florida Senate debates: on Health Care


Jeff Greene: Supports Obamacare

The candidates generally restrained from attacking each other when questioned on specific issues. Asked about health-care, the candidates praised new federal laws backed by President Barack Obama, but sparred over Medicaid. Replying to a question on Social Security reform, Greene and Meek attacked Crist and Rubio for backing raising the age of eligibility for receiving Social Security benefits.
Source: 2010 Florida Dem. Primary Debate, in Sunshine State News Aug 11, 2010

Charlie Crist: Cover Florida: 6,000 uninsured given peace of mind

Q: You said a month ago there may be parts of healthcare reform that you don't have to scrap. What parts?

CRIST: Pre-existing instances should not be a discriminatory tool used by insurance companies to not give people insurance. We need to repeal this thing. Let's start over. The real problems with health care are access and affordability. And we have approached those in Florida, a plan called Cover Florida. No tax dollars involved. No government mandates. I think Washington could learn a lot from Florida.

Q: We looked into Cover Florida--stripped-down insurance for stripped-down prices. As you say, all voluntary. But only 0.1% of Florida's uninsured have signed up for it, 5,000 out of millions of people.

CRIST: It's about 6,000 now. Every individual of those 6,000 now has that peace of mind, doesn't have to worry about their child having a catastrophic illness.

Q: But it's hardly "Cover Florida."

CRIST: Well, I think it's important that it's Cover Families. People who get it like it.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2010 Florida primary Senate debate Mar 28, 2010

Charlie Crist: Get waste & fraud out of Medicare so program will survive

CRIST: I think we need to take the fraud out of Social Security, the waste, in Medicare as well.

Q: With all due respect, waste and fraud--people have been talking about it for years. Don't you actually have to make some benefit changes if you're going to deal with this debt issue?

CRIST: You might have to make some, but I think what you want to do first is get the waste and the fraud out.

Q: Such as what?

CRIST: I think you have to have strict enforcement. You have to have U.S. attorneys that go after this with a serious approach and realize that in order for these programs to be able to survive so that my children and my grandchildren have an opportunity to be able to benefit from them, we have to spend less by getting waste and fraud out of these systems.

Source: Fox News Sunday 2010 Florida primary Senate debate Mar 28, 2010

Marco Rubio: Provide alternatives to employer-based insurance system

Q: In an article you wrote: "Any solution should ultimately seek to promote a vibrant private market where individuals can buy health insurance the way we buy auto insurance, independent of our employer, with the kind of flexibility and coverage we need & at affordable prices." Would you move away from an employer-based health insurance system?

RUBIO: Well, it's not about moving away. It's about providing an alternative to it.

Q: If you go to Washington, would you work to repeal healthcare reform?

Source: Fox News Sunday 2010 Florida primary Senate debate Mar 28, 2010

  • The above quotations are from 2010 Florida Senate debates.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Marco Rubio on Health Care.
  • Click here for more quotes by Charlie Crist on Health Care.
Candidates and political leaders on Health Care:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R)
Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)
Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 02, 2018