New Federal Bill Seeks to Eliminate Healthcare Benefits to People on the Sex Offender Registry
U.S. Representative Greg Steube (of course he has to be from Florida), just issued a press release announcing a new bill to bar registrants from access to affordable or government healthcare programs.
The press release announces Rep. Steube’s introduction of the so-called CLEAN Act, which would bar anyone on a sex offense registry from receiving ACA premium tax credits or federally funded Medicaid. Framed as a measure to protect “taxpayer dollars,” the proposal treats access to basic health care as a moral reward rather than a public health necessity. The bill makes no distinction between offenses, age of the conviction, or whether the individual has long since completed their sentence and lived law-abidingly in the community.
The Florida Action Committee notes that denying health coverage does nothing to enhance public safety – it’s just more punishment. It risks destabilizing people who are already among the most heavily regulated populations in the country. Cutting off access to medical care — including mental health treatment is more costly to taxpayers in the long run and jeopardizes public safety! The proposal appears less focused on evidence-based safety outcomes and more about punishment, using a politically unpopular group as a convenient target for exclusion from programs designed to meet basic human needs.
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Tell you what. How bout barring PFR’s from having to pay federal taxes too? Bet that won’t happen. I’m FED up! Get it?
What the heck is this guy on anyways???? The fact that we did do a disgusting crime and those have paid their debt to society and are showing no sign of relapsing and getting along in their neighborhood are now most likely to lose one of the most valuable assets in life. You think that those of us who have to live the rest of our life with a GPS on our ankles in Wisconsin (which is being challenged right now) have to deal with this lifetime punishment in which almost all were NEVER court ordered. This guy is just one of many idiots that wants to make every sex offender’s life a living hell. IF this law passes (which it won’t) then this guy better be prepared for the MASSIVE lawsuit filings of every Sex offender affected and be prepared to pay out big bucks!
John
Drop the “S” and please say “Ex” offender, not sex offender. Otherwise, it makes us sound like we are still offending.
The other side calls us sex offenders, let us not call ourselves that (Of course unless that person IS still offending)
Just a thought my friend
I just sat down and cried when I read this. My husband is on the registry and we are in our 60s and have been dealing with this for over two decades. This could well be the straw that breaks us. I shouldn’t be surprised but come on….
Rachel, don’t despair. It takes a lot for a bill to become a law and in some cases, the law might be the straw that breaks the registry.
Thanks, FAC.
This bill probably doesn’t have the smallest chnce of becoming law, because not only does it violate human rights, and many other things, it targets only one group of ex-felons.
In our experience, neither human rights violations, nor the targeting of one group of ex-felons, have consistently prevented a bill from becoming law.
DVC
Never underestimate the power of unity in hate in large numbers. This lawmaker is clearly pandering to his hate-filled constituency in an election year. Unfortunately, we’re on the menu and lwhile living in a post-facts world.
The only way to fight this is to watch the progression of this bill. As soon as it picks up sponsors a massive info-dump of outrage needs to be emailed and protested against their reasoning for supporting this garbage bill. The “savings” this bill claims will provide is laughably negligible and just a front for the real intent: revenge, cruelty and hate.
Well I am on medicare and am disabled. If they do this, I would be dead in a few months. They already raised my medications so high that I struggle to pay for them, but if they took away my medical plan, I would not last but a few months. I have expensive medications that are keeping me alive.
This is one bill I would fight all the way to the supreme court. This is a flagrant hate crime as I see it, just so that person can bully us without repercussions. Will they next say we cannot claim social security that we earned from working?
I believe this bill targets Medicaid and the ACA act. It doesn’t affect Medicare. It is still barbaric and shows how unhinged these Florida Lawmakers are,
Esther
Thanks, I hope that is the case. These knot heads keep dreaming in their sleep what kinds of ways they can torment those of us on the registry. It is bad enough our neighbors give us grief, why do law maker have to come up with retroactive crap to keep holding us down?
It would be one thing if we were still on probation, but many of us like myself have been off of paper for decades now. My crime was 35 years ago, why do I (And others) have to suffer from that for life?
Yes, however the Disabled are approved for medicaid by default which pays the medicare premiums and picks up the copay costs. By removing the medicaid a significant financial burden will now be placed upon the disabled to where they will not be able to afford to live. So Jack is correct unfortunately disabled pfr’s will end up dead in a short amount of time.
This. I only collect around $1000/mo. now in SSI/SSDI payments. My Medicaid pays my Medicare premiums. Wihout it, I lose $200/mo. so my check would be $800/mo. Then of course, I lose what little extra Medicaid is paying.
It angers me that the sponsor of this bill had a terrible accident but got THE BEST medical money can buy. But I have to jump through hoops to get a handul of medical tests conducted annually. When the pool of funds run out I have to schedule preventative screenings for next year or potentially get hit with bills bigger than my yearly income. It is hard enough to get care as it is without this FloriDUH politician making things worse.
I fully agree with you. I was pointing out that this Bill will cause us to lose in a way we cannot afford.
I know I just want others to see how this all works as I am living it right now
Hey Jack, Check into Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. I have a friend whose husbands Cancer meds are either $600 a week or $600 a month either way. They cost her $30 through Mark’s company.
Thanks Tearful
Will look into it in case they do come after us. This one for me seems like the Supreme court could get involved. There are certain rights even prisoners have (Or supposedly do).
Seems like there are two constitutions, one for ex sex offenders, and one for everyone else. At least by the interpretations some judges conclude based on our crime.
another example of the registry being punitive, why can no attorney get all the punishments and present it to the supreme court and get the registry squashed, There is just so much evidence its punishment out there that was not there when they enacted it
My question is ‘Why only people with sex offenses?’
Why not also killers, bank robbers, arsonists,narcotics dealers, etc.?