Florida Governor Nominee Donalds Eyes Vaccine Policy Changes, Criticizes ACA

Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, the Republican nominee for governor, outlined his healthcare priorities in an interview on CBS News' "Face the Nation." He indicated a willingness to re-evaluate vaccine mandates, emphasizing parental choice in childhood vaccinations. Donalds agreed with current state moves to give parents more decision-making power over their children's vaccines.

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When it comes to polio, MMR, those are things that we want to make sure we study and really engage in before we make those determinations and work with the legislature before we make any of those decisions about requirements for those vaccines.

While acknowledging the need to study specific vaccines like polio and MMR before making legislative decisions, Donalds noted that President Trump had previously allowed for a reversal of vaccine schedule concentrations. He suggested that spreading out vaccinations could be beneficial for infants, citing a different schedule for his own 22-year-old son compared to current recommendations.

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The vaccination schedule for him was very different for kids today, and so spreading out that vaccination schedule, I think, does make sense. It gives an infant human body the ability to actually absorb and deal with that that rate of vaccination.

The congressman identified rising healthcare costs as a major issue for Floridians, directly criticizing the Affordable Care Act. He stated that premiums and deductibles have increased significantly since the act's passage 15 years ago, making it ineffective for families nationwide. Donalds proposed a solution centered on price transparency, advocating for doctors' offices and hospitals to publicly post the cash prices for their top 20 services. This, he believes, would empower Floridians to make informed choices about their healthcare providers based on actual costs.

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The Affordable Care Act is not working for Floridians. We have seen premiums jump over the last 15 years since it passed. Deductibles, out of control for the last 15 years, and so the current structure of health insurance in our country under the Affordable Care Act is not working is not working for families, whether it's Florida or anywhere else in the United States.