Unless Florida’s economy makes a major comeback in the near future, a number of programs which offer assistance to the poor could face serious cutbacks. Numerous state programs ranging from clinics that treat low income and uninsured patients, to grants for putting students through medical school, are facing serious budget cuts due to the current state of the economy. Duval county health officials are worried about the number of cases of chronic disease which plague a disproportionate number of area citizens and are concerned about what will happen when these cases go untreated due to a lack of funds. Even Shands hospital is bracing for serious cuts as the budget is adjusted. How deeply will this affect area residents? What will the long term ramifications be?

1. Eli Says:
   November 7th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

   It sounds like the only hope is for the new Presidential administration to rush a healthcare reform bill through Congress so that at the very least there could be a degree of government subsidized health insurance in Florida for the neediest of the people affected by the economic downturn. In the end, that’s a very bad idea, though, because our healthcare system is in need of far more repair than a simple reform bill and should be thought about and deliberated thoroughly before any half-measures are taken instead.