Broward health tax proposal needs more work | Editorial

Good intentions are not always enough.

Broward County Commissioner Mark Bogen will ask his eight colleagues Tuesday to let county voters decide whether to raise the sales tax by a half cent, to 7.5%, to pay for a countywide program of free heart screenings to detect warning signs and reduce risks of heart disease. Bogen’s plan, while well-intentioned, has not been vetted thoroughly enough. We recommend that commissioners reject his proposal and keep studying and asking questions.

Preventive health care is extremely important, especially in a place as large and as diverse as Broward, and the CDC ranks heart disease as the state’s No. 1 killer. This also is a deeply personal mission for the hard-charging Bogen. His mother was 73 when she died of heart disease 18 years ago without a screening that might have saved her life. Bogen himself had an imaging test known as a cardiac CT scan a few months ago that revealed a partial blockage, and he said that prompted him to modify his habits, even though he felt fine.

“I am for screening to save lives,” Bogen told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, emphasizing voters would have the final say. “The last thing I want to do is raise taxes.”

A half-cent increase in the sales tax may not sound like much, and it would add $5 of tax to the $1,000 cost of a washer and dryer. But in a county of 2 million people, that would still generate a lot of money — at least $125 million a year, by Bogen’s estimate, with a chunk of that paid by tourists and part-time residents (Groceries, electricity and household rent are exempt from sales tax). If voters approve, the tax would be levied for 12 years, and at that rate would generate at least $1.5 billion over the full 12 years.

Broward voters approved a one-cent sales tax increase in 2018 for a 30-year, $16 billion program of transportation improvements, and in 2014, they approved a $600 million borrowing program to build and repair schools. The same year, they extended the county’s Children’s Services Council. Broward taxpayers have repeatedly voted to trust elected leaders with more of their money.

Health care in Broward is chiefly the responsibility of the two hospital districts that can levy property taxes on homeowners. The hospital district governing boards are run by political appointees of the governor and are not directly accountable to taxpayers, as county commissioners are.

The owner of a single-family home assessed at $322,700, the current median market value, paid $412 in taxes last year to the North Broward Hospital District. Many of those taxpayers pay monthly health insurance premiums, too.

A taxpayer who supports Bogen’s commitment to better preventive care might ask why a second tax for health care is needed when property taxes are already used for that.

Another factor, as we see it: Health care is not a core function of county government. Broward County does too many things as it is, and not always as well as it could: libraries, parks, roads, animal control, land use, mass transit, solid waste and more.

The proposal, as drafted by Bogen (items 77 and 78 on Tuesday’s agenda), would call for a new division of county government and an 18-member volunteer oversight board to provide “a broad range of health care services, including primary care, preventive care, and hospital care services” for county residents who are indigent or certified as medically poor. That sounds like the mission of the two hospital districts, Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System.

Bogen has held extensive talks with cardiologists at Holy Cross Hospital and has worked hard to collect endorsements from mayors, condominium and union leaders, and businesspeople. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis supports Bogen’s proposal and said he was screened at Bogen’s request and benefited from early diagnostic care.

“An ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure, for you cannot put a price tag on the lives we would save,” Trantalis said.

Questions persist, however. Several people listed as supporters of the taxpayer-funded screenings voiced reservations or opposition to the Sun Sentinel.

“I’m not in support of any kind of tax increase,” said Nova Southeastern University President George Hanbury. “It should be fully vetted and understood.”

Hanbury is not alone. Southwest Ranches Mayor Steve Breitkreuz, also listed as a supporter, told us: “I’d look long and hard before I’d agree to it. I need to research it.”

Another named supporter, Juliet Roulhac, chair of the Broward Workshop, a nonpartisan leadership group, told commissioners: “Although I support the proposal for preventative cardiac care screening initiatives, which benefit the health and welfare of our community, I need to better understand the costs and implementation process. Neither I nor the Broward Workshop have been provided with enough information to make that decision.”

Bogen’s goal is laudable, but too many unanswered questions remain. We recommend that commissioners vote no on Tuesday and do not place the question on the November ballot.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.

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