MIAMI (WSVN) - Some South Florida lawmakers did not see eye-to-eye on the health care bill and voted accordingly, Thursday.
South Florida’s congressional delegation, which is mostly Republican, agreed with the plan but one longtime member was one of 20 Republicans who voted against it.
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said she voted against the bill because she believes the measure brings high, unaffordable costs to lower income and elderly citizens. “I believe that the analysis is correct that it will take millions of people off their health care plan. It will not bring down health care costs,” she said.
Florida Representative Carlos Curbelo, who voted for the bill, said, “Over 1,000 counties across the country, including Monroe in South Florida, are left with a single insurance provider, meaning fewer choices, lower quality and higher costs. I refuse to condemn my community and the country to a health care system burdened by ever increasing costs, fewer options, government threats and fines against citizens, rampant fraud, inefficiency and mismanagement.”
Democrat Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz expressed her opinion on the bill via phone. “The president and Republicans promised they were changing the Affordable Care Act,” she said. “They were not going to take away coverage for pre-existing conditions. They lied.”
Republican Lincoln Diaz-Balart believed that there needed to be some kind of change, and that’s why he voted to approve the bill. “Whether we like it or not, Obamacare is collapsing and on its way out,” he said. “While this bill may be far from perfect, I am glad I was able to work with my colleagues to get significant improvements to the American Care Act.”
Senator Bill Nelson, D-Fla., echoed sentiments made by Ros-Lehtinen and said he will not support the bill.
Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has also indicated he’d like to see changes made to the measure.
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