As Governor: How David Jolly Would Fight the Health Care Affordability Crisis in Florida
Key moments
"As governor, we can fight the affordability crisis in health care."
Invest in community health centers so direct delivery of care is available "regardless of the ability to pay."
Better outcomes for people, and "an economic return to the state" by triaging things before they reach crisis.
What this video covers
In this clip David Jolly lays out how a Jolly administration would take on the cost of health care in Florida. Not a slogan. A two-part plan: expand Medicaid, and scale up community health centers in every county.
What's said
Expanding Medicaid is one solution. It isn't the only one. David argues Florida should also invest in federally qualified community health centers, the county health clinics people remember, and pilot the effort for five years. Watch the plan at 0:20, and see his full health care platform on the health care issue hub.
Transcript
Verified transcript of the video above.
Related questions
What are Federally Qualified Health Centers and why does Jolly want more of them?
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are community-based primary care clinics that serve patients regardless of insurance status, using a sliding-fee scale for low-income patients. They operate under Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act and are funded partly by HRSA. Nationally, FQHCs serve over 32 million Americans annually, with about 90% of patients at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. A 2023 NACHC analysis estimates FQHCs save the U.S. healthcare system about $24 billion a year by reducing ER visits and avoidable hospitalizations. Jolly's plan would dramatically scale up FQHC presence in every Florida county, building on the historical infrastructure of Florida's 67 county health departments.[1] Hear him describe the approach in the video at 0:20.
Why isn't Medicaid expansion enough on its own?
Because it takes time, even after a state expands, to enroll people, build clinical capacity, and connect new enrollees with primary-care providers. Expansion would cover the roughly 266,000 Floridians in the coverage gap, but those Floridians still need somewhere to get care. That is where scaling Federally Qualified Health Centers comes in. FQHCs deliver primary care regardless of ability to pay and triage patients before they hit the ER. Jolly proposes a 5-year pilot to dramatically expand FQHC presence in every Florida county, building on the historical network of 67 County Health Departments. Expansion plus FQHCs is what makes the plan deliver care, not just coverage.[2] Jolly makes the point directly in the video at 0:58.
Do community health centers actually save money?
Yes, by significant margins. A 2023 NACHC economic-impact analysis estimates Community Health Centers save the U.S. healthcare system approximately $24 billion a year by reducing emergency-department visits and avoidable hospitalizations. Per-patient costs are 24% lower for Medicaid patients and 30% lower for Medicare patients at CHCs compared with other outpatient clinics, per the Congressional Research Service. CHCs also support over 500,000 jobs nationally and contribute nearly $85 billion to the U.S. economy.[3] This is the economic return Jolly describes at 0:48.
Has Florida expanded Medicaid?
No. Florida is one of 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. As of May 2026, 41 states (including DC) have expanded; the holdouts are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Florida's Legislature has rejected expansion every session since 2013. The federal government pays 90% of the cost of the expansion population in perpetuity, but Florida has declined. As governor, David Jolly says Florida should commit to expanding Medicaid in the face of cuts from Washington and Tallahassee.[4]
Sources
- HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care , https://bphc.hrsa.gov/about-health-center-program/impact-health-center-program · 2024-01-01
- Kaiser Family Foundation, Coverage Gap , https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/how-many-uninsured-are-in-the-coverage-gap-and-how-many-could-be-eligible-if-all-states-adopted-the-medicaid-expansion/ · 2025-02-25
- National Association of Community Health Centers, Economic Impact Report , https://www.nachc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Economic-Impact-of-Community-Health-Centers-US_2023_final.pdf · 2023-06-01
- Kaiser Family Foundation, Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions , https://www.kff.org/medicaid/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-decisions/ · 2026-05-06
Care, not just coverage.
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