Florida needs to expand access to healthcare in underserved areas, and the number of practicing clinicians in those areas, according to a new report.
The Florida Council of 100, a 62-year-old nonpartisan group of business/civic/academic leaders, recently released its A Healthier Florida report, which was developed over the past two years. It states that Florida spends more than $36 billion annually on Medicaid services, and over 7.5 million Floridians live in areas with a shortage of primary care providers. This leads to a lack of critical preventative care, and an over-reliance on expensive emergency room treatment, it states.