Politics

Doctor In A Bill Nelson Ad Tries To Hammer Rick Scott’s Health Care Stance

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Editor’s Note: The original published version of this article said Dr. David Woolsey himself does not accept Medicaid. While the Florida Department of Health states Jackson Memorial Hospital, the hospital where he practices, does not participate in Medicaid, the hospital clarified that it actually does accept patients on this program. Doctors are only permitted to accept insurance companies approved by the hospital or practice for which they work.

While a doctor appearing in a pro-Medicaid expansion ad for Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson works at a hospital that says it accepts Medicaid, the Florida Department of Health states the hospital doesn’t participate in the Medicaid program.

“In here, you see it all, we’ve got an opioid crisis, a doctor shortage, seniors struggling to pay for care,” Dr. David Woolsey says in Nelson’s ad. “But even with all that, Rick Scott vetoed millions in health care funds and refused federal funds that would have covered 750,000 Floridians.”

Woolsey is referring to Scott’s opposition to Medicaid expansion under Obamacare. However, unlike the ad suggests, Scott never vetoed Medicaid expansion — it died in the Florida House of Representatives.

“Bill Nelson took on the insurance companies, forcing them to cover pre-existing conditions, and he’s working to get more people covered,” Woolsey says.

The Democratic super PAC Senate Majority PAC released the ad on July 11. The ad buy cost $2.6 million dollars. The super PAC is “solely dedicated to building a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate,” according to the SMP website.

Despite Woolsey’s apparent support of Medicaid expansion, the Florida Department of Health website states “this practitioner does NOT participate in the Medicaid program.”

But a hospital administrator at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he works, told The Daily Caller News Foundation it actually does accept Medicaid. When TheDCNF called Woolsey’s office directly and asked to speak to him or someone who directly handles his payment, they were declined.

A spokesman from the PAC also said that Woolsey accepts Medicaid.

A representative from the Florida Department of Health, however, said it was possible for a hospital to accept Medicaid without individual doctors accepting it.

“The services provided by the doctor may not be covered by Medicaid, even though the hospital accepts Medicaid,” the representative told TheDCNF.

“Dr. Woolsey treats patients with Medicaid at both of the hospitals he works at,” the Senate Majority PAC told TheDCNF. “He does not have a private practice. Florida’s health care system is in a crisis and Governor Scott’s response is to lie about a well-respected doctor. Governor Scott badly mismanaged Florida’s health care system, and he should personally apologize for falsely attacking one of his constituents.”

Scott is running against Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the 2018 Florida Senate race. The Cook Political Report rated the race as a “toss up,” meaning that “either party has a good chance of winning.”

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