Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist’s national media tour includes a fiery salvo: Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican Legislature are tied to the deaths of uninsured Floridians.
The former governor and Democratic candidate told MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown” that “six people in Florida die every day as a result” of the state’s failure to expand Medicaid for the poor and uninsured.
He attributes the information to service employee union officials. A recently published report in the journal Health Affairs estimates that Medicaid expansion could prevent the deaths of 1,100 Floridians.
Gov. Scott’s office fired back, telling the Tampa Bay Times that Crist is coming “unglued.” A statement said linking public policy to deaths is “crazy and irresponsible,” the Times reports.