Now that Florida is embroiled in a desperate fight to stop the spread of Zika, and as even more horrific birth defects are being tracked to Zika infection, Gov. Rick Scott is feeling the pressure:
Fighting the Zika virus has become a top priority for Gov. Rick Scott, but the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid coupled with his record of cutting money for county health departments, health clinics and programs for special-needs Floridians has started to complicate his message that the federal government is failing the state in addressing the potential crisis.
It definitely would be easier to fight this threat (and save Florida children and families) if someone hadn’t turned down Medicaid expansion that would have actually saved the state money. And if that same someone hadn’t chopped health services throughout the state—especially services that support women’s health and at-risk children. That someone? Rick Scott.
Only that’s completely wrong. Because cutting health services actually made it easier to fight Zika!
Scott and his office have steadfastly rejected criticism that any of the cuts have reduced Florida’s front-line capacity to manage the challenges of the fast-spreading virus, saying his budget cuts have only made the state more efficient.
So did Scott’s other cuts.
But averaged over his six years’ in office, Scott’s mosquito-control spending represents slightly less than a 2 percent annual increase — had he not cut money for fighting the bugs by 40 percent his first year in office.
Since all those cuts made things better, that’s why Scott is campaigning to cut even more … except, not so much.
As the Zika virus spreads in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has toured the state, talked up his administration’s commitment to fighting the mosquito-borne ailment and frequently criticized Congress and President Obama for not spending enough to help out.
Scott cut so much health care that things are really efficient. Now, all he needs is someone to replace all the funds he cut.