DAVIE, Fla. — This November, Broward County voters will decide whether to pay a higher sales tax — a quarter-percent increase — to continue free health screenings that supporters argue have saved lives by detecting problems early.
The county approved $10 million for the program three years ago. Now, the money is drying up, and if voters do not approve a proposed tax increase, County Mayor Mark Bogen says the program may not survive.
“Rather than waiting till it’s stage 4 or waiting until you get a heart attack, we now have a way to try to catch it before it really can kill you,” Bogen said.
Bogen lost his mother to a heart attack.
He learned about a test ― essentially, a CT scan of the heart done on a machine. He said the county is the first nationwide to offer the test for free, even if patients have no symptoms.
It is recommended for those over 45 with conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure or a family history of heart disease.
Bogen says the county has scanned 7,000 people. More than half — 4,000 — ended up needing medical care.
The program is run by Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital.
Alex Espinosa, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said many patients needing care have been “asymptomatic, didn’t have any idea they had heart disease, relatively healthy.”
Espinosa remembers having a heart attack right in the hospital’s parking lot, even though other heart tests did not show any problems.
“I was coming to work and I collapsed,” he said.
He believes if he had this scan, he could have prevented his heart attack.
“It may have found it and said, ‘Be proactive instead of reactive,’” Espinosa said.
If passed, the sales tax, currently 7%, would rise a quarter-percent to 7.25% for the next five years.
“It’s not on your groceries, it’s not on your medication, it’s not on your insurance, it’s not on your water bills, there’s so many things, it’s not on for people in their day to day living,” Bogen said.
Still, some doctors do not think the test is necessary. A county auditor review found testing people with no symptoms is “not universally accepted in the medical community.”
The review also found the test is rarely used unless the patient has greater risk.
Espinosa, though, thinks things are changing.
“I think it’s coming. I think we’re getting there,” he said. “I think giving it visibility and understanding the effects it has on the population from preventing heart disease, I think it’s very important.”
The program also covers cancer testing and primary and preventive healthcare for some people.
Voters head to the polls on Nov. 3.
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