2020 Candidate Program
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2020 CANDIDATE PROGRAM Alan Cohn (D/FL-15) Current Seat Ross Spano (R) Holder Seat Status Leans R Alan Cohn is an investigative journalist and was the anchor and managing editor of ABC7 at 7 in Sarasota. Cohn also worked for WFTS-Channel 28 and ABC. He won the Peabody Award for a multi-year investigation of quality control issues at Sikorsky Aircraft. Cohn has also worked for NBC, New Biographical England Cable News (where he won an Emmy Award), the Sketch Boston Globe, WTIC-TV, WGGB-TV, and WAMI-TV in Miami. In 2014, Cohn ran as a Democrat for Congress in Florida's 15th congressional district, the seat held by Republican Congressman Dennis A. Ross. Cohn lost to Ross, getting 40 percent of the vote. Receipts: $588,919.81 Individual: $556,389.09 Disbursements: $459,301.01 FEC Filing as of PAC: $23,750.00 Cash on Hand: $129,618.80 10/14/2020 Party: $146.00 Debt: Candidate: $8,400.00 Other: Polling Endorsements Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, Senator Kent Conrad, Congressman Charlie Crist 1. Healthcare 4. US Tax Code Top Campaign 2. Prescription Costs 5. Minimum Wage Issues 3. Climate Crisis 6. Social Safety Net Role of Healthcare Cohn has pledged to reform the Affordable Care Act, prevent the insurance industry from in the Campaign creating super PACs, create a public option, and implement price transparency. Florida's 15th congressional district was reassigned in 2012, effective January 2013, to the northern parts of Hillsborough and Polk counties as well as the southernmost parts of Lake. District Profile The district includes Brandon, Plant City, Lakeland and Bartow. 2016 Presidential Vote: Trump 53%, Clinton 44% Cook’s Partisan Voter 2018 Congressional Vote: Spano 53%, Carlson 47% Index: R+6 Campaign Manager Contact [email protected] Information Social Media https://www.facebook.com/CohnforCongress2020/ Updated 10/14/20 Candidate profiles, including race projections, are updated quarterly until August 1 and monthly thereafter. The latest HLC race projections are available on the HLC Candidate Program website under “Open Seats” and “Other Races to Watch” respectively. All posted information has been provided by the HLC Regional Director and various sources including National Journal, The Cook Political Report, the Federal Election Committee, the candidate’s website, etc. and not directly provided by the candidate. For more information contact HLC Regional Director Brian Feldman– Phone: (404) 885-1723– Email: [email protected] CANDIDATE PROGRAM HEALTHCARE POSITIONS Alan Cohn (D/FL-15) Data provided from publicly Regional Director met with As of: available third party sources candidate 10/15/2020 Executive Summary & Overall Rating Well-informed on healthcare issues? YES NO Looking for HLC’s help to learn healthcare issues? YES NO Supportive of HLC’s agenda generally? YES NO Elected official or other government background? YES NO If so, what? Various state government policy positions Has a healthcare background or healthcare connection? YES NO If so, what? OVERALL HEALTHCARE PHILOSOPHY Cohn is an award winning investigative journalist with no government experience beyond “exposing corrupt politicians”. He favors a public option rather than Medicare for All and also believes that private sector driven Medicaid expansion can work in states like Florida. He is an underdog in this lean R district now that the scandal ridden incumbent Ross Spano was defeated in the GOP primary by Scott Franklin. He has very harsh criticism of the insurance and pharma industries. POSITION ON HEALTHCARE POLICIES 5 4 3 2 1 Strongly Strongly Generally Generally Supports Opposes Supports HLC Mixed Support Opposes HLC HLC Agenda HLC Agenda Agenda Agenda (Agrees) (Disagrees) Value-Based healthcare can only be achieved if current federal fraud and abuse laws are 4 modernized to allow greater collaboration by private healthcare entities. Telehealth is essential in addressing healthcare access disparities and these services should be 4 expanded through increased funding. A new government-run health insurance system is the best answer to providing affordable 3 coverage to all Americans. 5 Behavioral health services should be an integral part of a coordinated healthcare framework. In Medicare Parts C and D, the private sector negotiates lower prices more efficiently than the 1 government can and this successful approach should be maintained. The government adequately pays healthcare providers to educate the next generation of 4 physicians. Extraordinary measures to control prices such as drug importation or replicating the government 2 price controls of other countries will undermine medical innovation and the development of new treatments. .