Peter Schorsch’s recent article in the miamitimesonline.com, originally published by Florida Politics, raises a red flag that every taxpayer, patient, and local leader in Broward County should take seriously. The proposed hospital legislation he outlines is not just a policy debate it is a direct threat to local control, public accountability, and the proper use of taxpayer dollars.
At its core, this bill opens the door for locally generated tax dollars to be exported out of county, potentially benefiting corporate hospital systems and private interests with little obligation to reinvest in the communities footing the bill. That should concern anyone who believes public money should serve public needs locally, transparently, and equitably.
Broward County voters have repeatedly supported tax measures tied to healthcare access, emergency services, and public health infrastructure with the understanding that those funds would strengthen care here at home. Redirecting those dollars elsewhere breaks that trust. It weakens already strained safety-net systems and undermines the intent of voters who expected tangible benefits in their own neighborhoods.
This issue is especially urgent for Black and underserved communities, where access to quality healthcare is already uneven. When resources leave the county, the people left behind are often those who can least afford delays in care, hospital closures, or reduced services. We have seen this story before; profits privatized, risks socialized, and communities told to make do with less.
Schorsch is right to spotlight how quietly consequential legislation can move through Tallahassee while local governments and residents are left holding the bag. Healthcare policy should not be written in a vacuum or shaped by backroom lobbying. It demands broad public input, rigorous fiscal analysis, and above all respect for local taxpayers.
If lawmakers believe reforms are needed, those reforms must come with ironclad guarantees: local dollars stay local, public oversight is preserved, and community health outcomes not corporate margins remain the guiding metric.
Broward County’s health dollars should heal Broward County residents. Anything less is a misuse of public trust.
The Westside Gazette stands in agreement with this warning and urges residents, commissioners, and state legislators alike to slow this process down, ask harder questions, and protect the principle that public money must serve the public right where it is raised.
— Westside Gazette Editorial Board
