Florida surge fueled by lack of investment in public health

As Florida’s population grew by 2.4 million over the last decade, the state’s per capita public health budget shrunk by 41%, fueling the surge of COVID-19, according to a recent article in Modern Healthcare. Calling the state “a microcosm and a cautionary tale for America,” the authors say Florida was “caught flat-footed” by the pandemic because it lacked the case investigators and public health nurses who could have helped contain the outbreak. The article details the impact in various state locales of insufficient public health resources, which health experts tie to funding cuts made during the Great Recession and choices by a series of governors seeking to privatize state services. (Modern Healthcare article, 8/24/20)