Will Sen. Rick Scott try to kill Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security?
Bet the ranch.
You might have heard about Rick’s “11-Point Plan to Rescue America,” in which he pledged to “sunset” (terminate) all federal programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
He knew this would kick 5 million seniors in the teeth, turning millions of them poor and making the already-poor poorer. “I’ll warn you,” Rick said, “this Plan is not for the faint of heart.” Too true.
With the flak Rick’s Plan got, and a 2024 election coming up, he announced what amounted to a stay of execution for Medicare and Social Security (though not for Medicaid). But the announcement was fraudulent. If Rick is re-elected, he’ll put Medicare and Social Security back on his “Rescue” Plan chopping block quick as a cat.
Ending Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security is Rick’s life mission.
The President of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare said this summer, “Out of all 100 senators, Rick Scott has perhaps the most egregious record when it comes to Medicare.”
Before giving Medicare and Social Security a stay of execution for election season, Rick for 15 months aggressively pushed his “Rescue” Plan killing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. He plugged it hard on Hannity, at CPAC, on Fox News Sunday and a raft of other places. Vaporizing these programs is his dream. He’s not walking away from it. He’s just being subtle until the election.
Rick recently said the federal budget has to be cut in half. Though he didn’t say so directly, that means gutting or killing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which are half the budget.
He likes to say that Medicare and Social Security are “going bankrupt” but ask what he’d do to fix them and he won’t return your calls. Because he’s for ditching, not fixing them. The Council for Retirement Security, Factcheck.org, Fortune and CNBC say the programs aren’t going bankrupt, BTW.
Federal health care and entitlement programs have been on Rick’s hit list for decades — including Obamacare from 2009 on and Hillarycare back in the 1990s. Zebras don’t change their stripes.
Rick’s fraudulent stay of execution for Medicare and Social Security fits his customary pattern:
· As governor, Rick opposed Medicaid expansion in Florida. Then when his re-election contest approached, he announced he supported Medicaid expansion. The announcement was fraudulent. He went back to opposing expansion after being re-elected.
· This summer in the Senate he voted against the Right to IVF Act (in vitro fertilization), then the next day he ran a warm and fuzzy TV ad saying he “unconditionally supported” the right to IVF. The ad was fraudulent.
· In 2022 Senator Rick tweeted out a photo of himself making care packages for members of our military “in gratitude of their sacrifice and service to our nation” (video at 43:10). His message was fraudulent. Minutes after the tweet, he voted down a bill to aid members of our military who are suffering due to exposure to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Fraud is in Rick’s DNA. As CEO of Columbia/HCA hospital chain, he was responsible for the largest fraud in American history at the time, scamming Medicare and Medicaid to the tune of 1.7 billion (with a “b”) dollars.
He’s perpetrating a fraud on Florida voters today regarding his plans for Medicare and Social Security. If Rick is around and has anything to say about it in 2025, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will be in trouble.
Rick also is running for Republican Senate Leader this fall, which would give him more power to axe these programs.
We don’t want Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security to go away — we want Rick to.
— Jim Carroll, Riviera Beach
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This article appears in Oct 9-15, 2024.