TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s affordability crisis is shaping up to be the defining battle of the 2026 legislative session, with Republicans and Democrats unveiling sharply different plans to bring down the cost of living. From healthcare and prescription drugs to housing, insurance, and property taxes, both parties say they hear the same warning from constituents: life in Florida is becoming too expensive.

“Costs are skyrocketing and it’s getting harder to make ends meet,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, in a recent press conference.

“There’s a real affordability challenge going on in Florida, and we need to be helpful,” said Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Bartow, during a media gathering, Monday.

House Republicans are leaning heavily on a sweeping new healthcare package. Announced by House Speaker Danny Perez, R-Miami, on Tuesday, the legislation seeks to strengthen the workforce and reduce pharmacy costs.

“President Trump’s bold leadership through the One Big Beautiful Bill set the standard for real, results-driven healthcare reform, and Florida is proud to lead the way in implementing that vision at the state level,” said Perez in a statement. “We are taking decisive action to cut red tape, grow our healthcare workforce, expand patient choice, and protect taxpayer dollars while ensuring families can access high-quality care when they need it most. In partnership with the President’s leadership, Florida is delivering real results.”

Rep. Adam Anderson, R-Tarpon Springs, who chairs the Healthcare Facilities subcommittee, is backing the effort as a state-level companion to the Trump administration’s proposed One Big Beautiful Bill.

“The whole package is really designed to support our workforce, to improve the quality of healthcare, to improve health outcomes, to lower the cost, especially in things like prescription drugs, which is a really, really big deal,” said Anderson.

Critics warn it would tighten eligibility for Medicaid, CHIP, and SNAP. Asked about concerns the changes could leave families hungry, Anderson pushed back.

“Well, I don’t, I don’t have those concerns actually,” he said. “Frankly, these programs are designed for a specific purpose, and they’ve drifted away from that. There’s some abuse there. We need to rein in that abuse. We need to make sure that these programs are utilized the way that they were intended.”

Republicans are also exploring long-term property tax relief for homesteaded Floridians. The House is floating multiple options that preserve funding for education, while Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for a single sweeping ballot amendment to phase out homesteaded property taxes entirely.

CFO Blaise Ingoglia, R-Florida, said he supports the governor’s vision.

“I’m with the governor,” said the DeSantis appointee. “We should have the goal of getting rid of property taxes on homesteaded properties. You know, this is something that we can do over the course of three, five, seven years, but it should be the goal, because I agree with the governor that if you own a piece of property, you should not continue having to rent it.”

Critics, including Democrats, warn the idea could gut funding for schools, police, and other local services.

“Despite the President calling it a hoax, we all see with our own eyes that the affordability crisis is real,” said Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach.

Across the aisle, Democrats have rolled out their own three-bill affordability package. One measure would create a multi-state home insurance risk pool to stabilize soaring premiums. Another aims to help first-time homebuyers through incentives and tax breaks. A third targets government spending with deep-dive audits on big-ticket items — including controversial projects like the state’s “Alligator Alcatraz” detention site.

“Let’s stop the waste. Refocus our spending on things like schools on roads, or let’s put it back in the pockets of the families who need it most,” Driskell said.

The 2026 legislative session begins Jan. 13. The debate in Tallahassee is no longer about whether affordability is a crisis, but whose cure voters believe will actually make life cheaper.

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