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DeSantis wants health care plan that would ‘supersede’ Obamacare. What does that mean?

Seeking the GOP nomination for president, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he plans on unveiling a health care proposal next year that would “supersede” Obamacare.

DeSantis didn’t outright say that he would repeal the Affordable Care Act, but the Republican hopeful said he wants to replace it with something that would lower health care costs and continue to guarantee coverage for people with preexisting conditions.

“We want to make sure we have as many people covered as possible at the lowest possible price,” the governor said. The fate of Obamacare is an important issue for many in the governor’s state.

In January, Florida led the way with the highest number of people in the country who signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, with more than 3.2 million people enrolling, or 20% of the country’s totals. Miami-Dade easily led the country in Obamacare enrollments this year, according to data made available by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, with just under 750,000 consumers with an Obamacare marketplace plan selection.

What would a DeSantis presidency look like for health care?

On the presidential campaign trail, Republican Ron DeSantis touts himself as a champion of medical freedom, outlawing vaccine mandates and protecting doctors who refuse to provide certain medical treatments on moral grounds.

His record as Florida’s governor suggests a presidency that would prioritize individual freedom over public health, but his push for such freedoms ends when it comes to abortion and treatment for gender dysphoria. In Florida, he has pushed restrictions on those medical services.

Critics contend those were the wrong priorities in a state where 7.4% of children had no medical insurance as of 2022. Since then, more than 250,000 Florida children have lost the health insurance they had through Medicaid. As he sets his sights on the White House, here’s a recap of his health care record:

DeSantis as president would likely downplay the importance of the CDC, which is an advisory body, and instead might require states to invest more in public health infrastructure, said Jay Wolfson, a public health professor at the University of South Florida.

Tampa Bay police agencies expect policy changes after Marsy’s Law ruling.

Law enforcement agencies and other officials in Tampa Bay are grappling with how to amend their policies and procedures in the wake of Thursday’s sweeping Florida Supreme Court ruling on the victim rights measure known as Marsy’s Law. 

The court ruled Thursday that Florida police officers and crime victims more broadly can’t shield their identity behind the constitutional amendment passed in 2018.

That means that agencies in the Tampa Bay area and across the state that have been withholding the names of law enforcement officers, members of the general public or both since Marsy’s Law went into effect in January 2019 will likely have to change their policies.

The case involving Tallahassee police officers that prompted the court’s ruling focused, in particular, on whether the law applies to law enforcement officers working in the line of duty. But Thursday’s ruling went further. The opinion written by Justice John Couriel said that “Marsy’s Law does not guarantee to a victim the categorical right to withhold his or her name from disclosure.”

Legal weed in Florida? Voters may soon decide on recreational Marijuana law.

Florida voters could soon be able to decide whether recreational marijuana will be legalized in the state in a move that's been years and perhaps decades in the making. Here's a look at the state of marijuana legalization in Florida and what's expected to happen in the next year.

A constitutional amendment approved by over 70% of voters in 2016 legalized medical marijuana in Florida. Medical marijuana is legal for Florida residents with medical marijuana cards who have been diagnosed with qualifying conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, among others.

Once a patient has been diagnosed and entered into the state's registry, they apply for a Medical Marijuana Use Registry Identification card. Once approved, the card can be used at medical marijuana treatment centers. There are nearly 860,000 qualified medical marijuana patients in the state, according to the Florida Department of Health's Office of Medical Marijuana Use.

There are currently a little more than 600 dispensaries throughout Florida, owned by about two dozen different licensed operators. Trulieve operates the most in the state, with 129, according to the most recent statistics from the state.