Cost of Living

Families across Florida’s 6th District—from Daytona Beach to St. Augustine and our inland communities—are feeling the pressure from rising housing affordability issues, skyrocketing insurance premiums, healthcare costs, and increased prices for everyday essentials. These challenges are not political; they are rooted in common sense. It’s time for practical solutions that uphold what makes Florida resilient: opportunity, security, and affordability.

Housing Affordability

Home prices and rents have surged, making homeownership a distant dream for many. The rise in property taxes, costs of building materials and labor, and interest rates have rendered affording a home unattainable for most. Mobile home lot rents have nearly doubled since 2015, disproportionately affecting seniors and working families.

Revitalize & Rebuild incentive program: Encourage developers to repurpose abandoned or underutilized properties by combining tax incentives, grants, and regulatory relief to create affordable, quality housing. 

Boost Homeownership: Expand first-time homebuyer credits and enhance VA loan access for veterans and service members. 

Protect Mobile Home Owners: Promote resident-owned communities by improving access to low-interest financing.

Insurance Relief

Florida’s insurance crisis is causing premiums to skyrocket to an average of $6,000 per year, significantly above the national average. Overdevelopment, particularly in high-risk coastal and flood-prone areas, exacerbates this issue by increasing both claim frequency and replacement costs.

Federal Disaster Backstop: Create a national reinsurance program to stabilize rates without burdening taxpayers. 

Storm Hardening Incentives: Provide grants for upgrades such as impact windows and roofing—because stronger homes lead to lower premiums. 

Accountability for Insurers: Increase transparency for companies that receive taxpayer-backed disaster aid while also raising rates. 

Promote Responsible Development: Support policies that encourage construction in safer areas and require new developments in high-risk zones to adhere to the strongest storm-resiliency standards. Overbuilding in flood zones strains infrastructure and raises catastrophic losses, which drive up insurance costs for everyone, not just those living on the coast. Responsible growth can help lower risk and stabilize insurance markets.

Healthcare Costs

Healthcare costs are among the fastest-growing household expenses, particularly for seniors and working families. A significant contributor to this trend is the high cost of prescription drugs, which remain elevated despite recent federal reforms.

Lower Prescription Costs: Enforce Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices and extend those savings to private insurance markets. 

Upfront Price Transparency: Require hospitals and insurers to disclose costs before treatment so families can make informed decisions about their healthcare. 

Telehealth Expansion: Support telehealth for rural and senior patients to reduce travel and out-of-pocket expenses. 

Protect Against Surprise Billing: Fully enforce federal laws against unexpected medical charges.