March 29, 2013 – Tallahassee, Fla. – The Florida Hospital Association released a revised report by the University of Florida Food & Resource Economics Department that shows extending healthcare coverage by using $51 billion in federal funds would create over 121,000 permanent, high-wage jobs over the next 10 years.
“Extending coverage will generate a cumulative employment impact of 121,945 permanent jobs in Florida,” said Dr. Alan Hodges, director of the University of Florida program in economic impact analysis. “The local and regional impact of these jobs also means more revenue and consumer spending.”
Employment impacts would be highest in the large metropolitan counties of Miami-Dade (23,655 jobs), Broward (12,665 jobs), Palm Beach (8,455 jobs), Orange (8,019 jobs) and Hillsborough (7,377 jobs). Major industries that would be most impacted include: construction, educational services, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and real estate, among others.
“After careful review, the governor and the Senate concluded that providing healthcare coverage to a million or more uninsured Floridians is the right thing to do,” said Bruce Rueben, president of the Florida Hospital Association. “What is good for working, low-income Floridians turns out to be great for our economy.”
A total of $5.41 billion in tax revenue for local and state governments would also be generated over a 10-year period, or an average of $541 million per year.
The revised projection is based on new estimates released by the Florida Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research (March 7, 2013).
View the complete report and regional employment impacts.
