Tallahassee City Commissioner Curtis Richardson joined a group at the Florida Capitol Thursday asking Governor Rick Scott to explain a lawsuit activists say could make getting health coverage for pre-existing conditions more difficult.
Tallahassee doctors and local activists stood with Richardson in the hallway outside of Governor Rick Scott’s office during a Thursday protest. Florida has joined 25 other states in a lawsuit to overturn parts of the Affordable Care Act, including a provision that bars insurance companies from charging people with pre-existing conditions more. Richardson claims Scott has a vested interest in seeing the Affordable Care Act fail.
“When the law was initially proposed, he spent millions of dollars of his own money in opposition to it, and has, since it was enacted, been an active participant in trying to gut provisions of that law," Richardson said.
Scott has faced criticism for declining to comment on the lawsuit. A spokeswoman for Governor Scott's office says Scott has long been a staunch supporter of ensuring those with pre-existing conditions get the healthcare they need. She points to the following press release published in 2017:
*This story has been corrected to include a statement from Governor Rick Scott's office. An earlier version of this story indicated Scott's stance on healthcare for those with pre-existing conditions had recently changed.
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