A new report shows the health reform law has helped to extend the life of the Medicare trust fund, in addition to improving Medicare overall. Read more »

Strategies to combat rising college costs and crushing college debt plaguing today’s students are imperative to building an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy. Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) hailed the passage of bipartisan legislation to strengthen financial counseling to ensure families receive the information they need to better understand their college financing options and reduce the burden of student debt. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) sent this letter to the Florida Public Service Commission. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) announced today that she and 32 members of Congress have created the State Medicaid Expansion Caucus to raise local, state and national awareness of the adverse economic and health impacts caused by the 24 states – including Florida – that have refused to expand health services for working Americans under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Read more »

In response to a three-judge panel in Washington that ruled 2-1 that insurance tax credits apply only in states that have set up their own marketplaces, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) said the following: “Floridians are at the mercy of the rigid ideology of Republican Gov. Rick Scott and legislators who refused to set up a Florida marketplace, expand health services to a million Floridians under Medicaid and even took away the insurance commissioner's ability to oversee insurance company rate increases. Hopefully, on appeal, the hundreds of thousands of our neighbors who finally have affordable health insurance will maintain access to their valuable tax credits.” Read more »

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor hosted a bipartisan meeting today to continue discussions about what the future will bring for MacDill Air Force Base with members of the Tampa Bay delegation and Kathleen Ferguson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics and related Department of Defense officials. Read more »

U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) who in 2005 sought to pass an expanded human rights ordinance after the Hillsborough County Commission adopted an anti-gay pride policy with Castor alone voting no released the following statement today: Read more »

Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) strongly opposing reclassification of the Florida manatee from “endangered” status to “threatened.” The letter also was signed by members of the Florida congressional delegation. Read more »

Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) announced that the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) received a $23 million Health Care Innovation Award to test new ideas and innovative models to deliver improved care, lower costs and better health to children enrolled in Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), particularly those with the greatest health care needs. St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Tampa is one of 10 children’s hospitals under CHA umbrella effort. Read more »

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, over half of American girls ages 13 to 17 have received at least one dose of the vaccination to protect against the human papillomavirus (HPV) - -and it's a rate that decreases over the needed second and third doses. Read more »