Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius met today to discuss Medicaid expansion and health policy issues in the state of Florida. U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor released the following statement:
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U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor voted to keep taxes low for middle-class families and boost economic growth in America. As part of the bill, she voted to reject a pay raise for members of Congress.
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U.S. Representative Kathy Castor announced today the award of $500,000 to Hillsborough County public schools for a school-based health center. The grant, which is authorized under the Affordable Care Act, will allow the school district to construct a health center to provide health services to children from economically distressed families in the USF area.
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“ As a parent and an American, my heart goes out to the victims and families in Newtown, Conn. We simply cannot tolerate this type of violence any longer. There is no reason people need access to assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Commonsense regulation is appropriate. It is time for us as a Congress and as a nation to take swift action. Congress should consider and pass the assault weapons ban this week.
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U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor announced today the award of a $30 million grant for the revitalization of northern downtown Tampa and the Encore redevelopment. Tampa is one of only four communities nationwide to receive a grant today from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhood initiative.
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After years of resistance to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) by Republican leadership in the State of Florida, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor announced today that she is buoyed by reports that the state will not oppose an important ACA provision relating to increased reimbursements to primary care physicians treating Medicaid patients – predominately children, seniors and pregnant women. Castor championed this provision for inclusion into the ACA in July 2009 as a member of the Energy & Commerce Committee and has worked to ensure broad-based implementation because of its importance to Florida families and their access to health care.
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Nearly 200,000 Florida seniors and people with disabilities have saved more than $338 million on prescription drugs as a result of the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor announced today. Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also show that in 2012, almost 200,000 beneficiaries in the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap known as the “doughnut hole” have saved an average of $658.
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U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and other Florida members of Congress urged the federal Civil Rights Commission this week to hold a hearing regarding the intent and people behind Florida’s voter suppression law, particularly following new information that the voter suppression effort was planned and coordinated. The new law limited access to the polls for minorities, seniors and college students. Among the changes, the new law eliminated the Sunday before Election Day as a day when voters could go to the polls. Data show that this had been a popular day for African-Americans and Hispanics to early vote. The Republican Legislature also targeted voter registration groups and made it more difficult to register voters.
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U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor sent a letter to Gov. Rick Scott today, urging him to implement the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that would increase reimbursements to primary care physicians treating Medicaid patients. Castor, who served on the Energy & Commerce Committee while the legislation was written and helped write this provision, said the committee’s intent was for the payment increase to be automatic, meaning neither the governor nor state Legislature should delay the payment boost.
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