Rep. Randy Fine Demands Healthcare Overhaul, Not Temporary Tax Credits

Republicans should focus on lowering healthcare costs and overhauling the Affordable Care Act rather than extending expanded COVID-era tax credits that are set to expire in about a week, Rep. Randy Fine said Thursday.

“What I’m hearing from my constituents is they want us to deal with healthcare and they want us to fix Obamacare,” the Florida Republican said, calling the law “a complete and total failure.”

He stated Democrats want Congress to “spend billions of dollars bailing it out,” but that the better approach is to “bring down costs across the board through reform,” enhance price transparency, and return to catastrophic-style coverage.

Fine also pointed to recent GOP-backed legislation he said would reduce costs and expand choices.

“We’ve passed several healthcare bills already,” Fine said, citing provisions linked to President Donald Trump’s Working Families Tax Cut Act, including rural healthcare funding and premium reductions.

He referenced a bill passed just before lawmakers left Washington that he said would “cut healthcare costs by $35 billion over the next 10 years,” adding it would create association plans, expand choice accounts, and include pharmacy benefit manager reforms.

More work is coming when Congress returns in January, he added.

Turning to immigration, Fine promoted legislation he recently introduced called the No Welfare for Non-Citizens Act, stating it will apply to “immigrants of any kind, legal or illegal” by letting them “have access to nothing for free from American taxpayers.”

Fine said immigrants should come “for freedom and opportunity,” not “for free stuff,” adding that he hopes the bill will be taken up early next year.