Gov. Ron DeSantis says people his age could get by without much preventive care.
“Most people, particularly under 50, what they really need is a catastrophic plan that’s affordable, where then they can pay whatever they’re doing out of a health savings account,” DeSantis, now 47, said during a fireside chat at the Hoover Institution.
DeSantis was in the Navy, meaning he and his family have access to taxpayer-funded health care. Since the 2012 election, DeSantis and his family have also benefited from government-subsidized health care. DeSantis served three terms in Congress from 2013 through much of 2018, and then was elected Governor.
But to hear DeSantis tell it, the benefits are wasted on him.
“Most people, outside of paying insurance premiums, are not paying a lot for medical on a routine basis. I know in the Navy, they told me to take something, I would do it. But other than that, I never did,” DeSantis told interviewer Condoleezza Rice.
It’s worth noting, First Lady Casey DeSantis battled breast cancer in recent years. While it’s unclear how the First Couple financed her recovery, but the First Couple does have access to a state employee health insurance plan, which likely would have foot most of the bill.
The Governor’s comments come as policymakers estimate that more than a million Floridians are poised to lose health coverage this year.
“Enrollment increased ~0.4M from 2024-2025 to a total market size of ~4.6M, but is on the decline and expected to drop significantly during 2026 Open Enrollment with the expiration of enhanced subsidies & Federal Rule implementation,” read a PowerPoint presented to the Florida House Health Care Facilities & Systems Subcommittee Tuesday.
Chief Actuary Kyle Collins observed that increased “market morbidity” is creating a death spiral for the market.
“With the subsidies expiring, members going from zero-dollar premium to a non-zero-dollar premium, what you typically see is people who need the coverage, they’re going to find that extra 20, 30 bucks. People who don’t need the coverage, they’re going to drop. And so then the average health of the remaining population is significantly worse, needing a much larger rate increase,” he explained.
Alexis Bakofsky, the Deputy Commissioner of Life and Health Insurance for Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation, painted a grim picture that could see rates increase by 34.1% year-over-year before subsidies are factored in.
“That’s not a typical rate we’d see for this market,” she said of the hike, which could lower enrollment by 25-30%, according to estimates she has seen.
Currently, 4.7 million Floridians have Affordable Care Act individual insurance, meaning 1.4 million people who have insurance this year could be uninsured in 2026.
link