Florida: U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District

Candidates

Allen Boyd, Democrat
Tom McGurk, Republican

Issues: Prescription Drugs | Social Security | Health Care |

The issue boxes contained on this page are not clickable online. Please print the page and make notes for your reference.

Question

Many people with Medicare lack adequate coverage for prescription drugs and face skyrocketing costs. What solution do you support to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for their drugs?

AARP Response

AARP believes an acceptable Medicare drug benefit needs to meet the following tests:

First, the benefit must offer real value at an affordable price. The monthly premium should be less than $35. The beneficiary’s deductible and co-payments should be reasonable and affordable, (e.g. a deductible no greater than $250). There should be no gaps in coverage, leaving persons to pay 100% of high out-of-pocket costs.

Second, the benefit should be available to all Medicare beneficiaries on a voluntary basis. No one should be forced into the program. But no one should also be denied access to a Medicare drug benefit because of where they live, how sick they might be, or how much or how little income they have.

Third, the plan must help bring down soaring drug costs.

Fourth, the plan must include additional help for low-income persons.

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Creates an affordable monthly premium
Supports a fair deductible and co-payment
Provides no gaps in coverage

Candidate Response: Allen Boyd

I think we can agree that Medicare needs to be reformed to include a meaningful prescription drug benefit. I believe that prescription drug coverage should be administrated as part of the Medicare program, just like hospital and physicians’ benefits. Like the existing hospital and medical coverage under Medicare, this new prescription drug benefit should be voluntary and equally available to everyone. Only in this way would all elderly and disabled people be given the security of being guaranteed access to an affordable prescription drug benefit that is available to all seniors regardless of geography is essential; seniors would know exactly what they will pay and exactly what they will get.

Candidate Response: Tom McGurk

The candidate was invited to participate in this voter guide, but did not respond by the publishing deadline.

Question

Do you support or oppose replacing part of Social Security with individual accounts?

AARP Response

AARP strongly opposes replacing ANY part of Social Security with individual accounts. Social Security is not in crisis. Without any changes in current law, Social Security can pay 100% of benefits until 2041. But individual accounts funded with Social Security dollars mean Social Security would face financial problems sooner.

"Personal control" sounds appealing. But substituting private accounts, even for part of Social Security, drains money from Social Security, which means less money to pay guaranteed benefits.

Creating these private accounts requires trading today’s inflation-protected lifetime guaranteed benefit for an account subject to market risk and not guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Inflation, market turns, or sudden loss of employment can also mean that your private account may not have enough money to provide an adequate benefit. AARP supports options that help Americans save for their retirement through individual accounts on top of Social Security; but opposes replacing any part of Social Security’s guaranteed benefit.

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Creates individual accounts out of Social Security
Position means less money for guaranteed benefits
Position guarantees benefits for your lifetime

Candidate Response: Allen Boyd

Candidate Response: Tom McGurk

The candidate was invited to participate in this voter guide, but did not respond by the publishing deadline.

Question

In the face of escalating costs, how would you reform the health care system to make it available, affordable and accessible for every American?

AARP Response

AARP supports measures to achieve access to affordable health care coverage for all individuals, an approach that would address the needs of those without public or private insurance or those at risk of losing coverage.

In the absence of universal coverage, AARP supports incremental reforms specifically targeted to particular populations that significantly improve coverage options for those without public or private insurance or those at risk for losing coverage.

These reforms include:

• Opening existing public programs (e.g. Medicaid) to new categories of people who are uninsured;
  
  
• Inducing employers to offer coverage;
  
  
• Subsidizing the cost of private coverage for those who are uninsured, underinsured, or at risk of losing coverage;
  
  
• Expanding the continuation of group health care coverage at group rates to persons whose access is ending (e.g. expanding COBRA coverage).
  
  

Issue	Yes	No	Unclear
Supports health care for all Americans
Proposes steps to cover more people

Candidate Response: Allen Boyd

The rising cost of health care has been recognized as a significant problem for a number of years, and many proposals have been offered to curb this trend. One such proposal resulted in the advent of managed care. A growing number of Americans receive their health insurance through managed care plans, and, in recent years, managed care has assisted greatly in reigning in the skyrocketing cost of health care in this country. However, managed care is not the last effort, and many feel that perhaps managed care has now taken us too far in the opposite direction by limiting the ability of physicians to make proper medical decisions, thereby denying adequate care to patients. As Congress continues to examine ways to reform government spending and reign in health care costs, I will make every effort to ensure health coverage is available and affordable for all Americans.

Candidate Response: Tom McGurk

The candidate was invited to participate in this voter guide, but did not respond by the publishing deadline.