Watch: Florida Gutted Its Public Health System Ahead of Pandemic

KHN Midwest editor and correspondent Laura Ungar appeared on Spectrum News Bay News 9 to discuss her recent investigation with The Associated Press on how Florida slashed its local health departments — downsizing staffing from 12,422 full-time equivalent workers in 2010 to 9,125 in 2019 and cutting spending from $57 to $34 per resident over that period. The staffing and funding fell faster and further in the Sunshine State than the nation, leaving Florida especially unprepared for the worst health crisis in a century.

Ungar also spoke on Fox 35 Orlando about the story, explaining how the cuts hampered the state’s ability to respond to the pandemic. Watch here:

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<h1>Watch: Florida Gutted Its Public Health System Ahead of Pandemic</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2020-09-02T13:55:45-04:00">
			September 2, 2020		</time>
		</div>
<p>KHN Midwest editor and correspondent Laura Ungar appeared on <a href="https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/politics/2020/09/01/report-claims-florida--flat-footed--before-covid-pandemic-hit#">Spectrum News Bay News 9</a> to discuss her <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/floridas-cautionary-tale-how-starving-and-muzzling-public-health-fueled-covid-fire/">recent investigation with The Associated Press</a> on how Florida slashed its local health departments — downsizing staffing from 12,422 full-time equivalent workers in 2010 to 9,125 in 2019 and cutting spending from $57 to $34 per resident over that period. The staffing and funding fell faster and further in the Sunshine State than the nation, leaving Florida especially unprepared for the worst health crisis in a century.</p><p>Ungar also spoke on <a href="https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/cuts-to-local-health-departments-make-it-challenging-during-pandemic">Fox 35 Orlando</a> about the story, explaining how the cuts hampered the state’s ability to respond to the pandemic. Watch here:</p><ul><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/watch-florida-gutted-its-public-health-system-ahead-of-pandemic/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/watch-florida-gutted-its-public-health-system-ahead-of-pandemic/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/watch-florida-gutted-its-public-health-system-ahead-of-pandemic/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Watch%3A%20Florida%20Gutted%20Its%20Public%20Health%20System%20Ahead%20of%20Pandemic&body=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2FMTE2NzQyNg&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/watch-florida-gutted-its-public-health-system-ahead-of-pandemic/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/watch-florida-gutted-its-public-health-system-ahead-of-pandemic/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/watch-florida-gutted-its-public-health-system-ahead-of-pandemic/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org">KFF Health News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1167426&amp;ga4=G-J74WWTKFM0" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p>

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