Amendment 3 would slash Florida’s health safety net. But no one knows what that will look like

Military and medical personnel seTting up to test for Coronavirus Covid 19 in Miami Hard Rock Stadium Parking lot. Credit: Felix Mizioznikov/Shutterstock Last year, the Indian River County Hospital District helped pay for 230,000 medical visits, counseling sessions, prenatal checkups and other care for roughly 27,000 people, about 1 in 6 county residents, who otherwise couldn’t afford it. It paid for Meals on Wheels for seniors who can’t drive, dental and mental health care for children, hospice and the county’s share of Medicaid. Nearly all of it was paid for with property taxes. If voters approve Amendment 3 on Nov. 3, the hospital district can expect to lose about a third of that tax money, said Frank Isele, the district’s executive director. By his rough prediction, that would mean about 10,000 fewer people served. “They’re going to forgo care,” he said. Florida’s public hospital districts and health systems stand to lose about $323 million in the amendment’s first f