9 Actions Florida Should Take to Help Taxpayers Impacted by Hurricane Ian

1.     Postpone tax notices and waive penalties or interest for late tax filings in affected areas

2.     Extend the date for residents to take advantage of the tax discounts they would normally receive for paying property taxes and special assessments in November and postpone or defer the deadline for property tax installment payments

3.     Protect individual and business taxpayers from the risks for notices that they will likely not receive because their home or business addresses is not accessible anymore

4.     Issue no new audits in severely impacted areas, extend the statute of limitations and postpone existing audits that haven’t reached the assessment stage because these can’t be responded to while entire communities are still recovering

5.     Create procedures for fairly estimating taxes which can’t be calculated because records have been destroyed by the storm, moving away from the current method which significantly overestimates activity if no records are available

6.     Initiate procedures to offer payment plan assistance for late taxes, rather than resorting to the standard collection methods, like liens, levies, or bank freezes

7.     Retroactively apply the recently passed law that provides property tax refunds for residential property rendered uninhabitable as a result of a catastrophic event

8.     Provide tangible personal property relief and allow n on-residential properties rendered uninhabitable to receive property tax refunds

9.     Get Congress to pass a Disaster Tax Relief Act that includes provisions from past packages, including elements such as an Employee Retention Credit, an enhanced casualty loss deduction, and other relief provisions

Other Resources

Florida TaxWatch Statement on Hurricane Ian Recovery

Community Involvement

Interdisciplinary Pain Management As a Means to Help Address Solvency of the State Employees' Health Insurance Trust Fund

/ Categories: Research, Cost Savings, Health Care, Insurance

With the Trust Fund projected to face a nearly $1.7 billion shortfall by FY 2029-30 without action, Florida TaxWatch outlines a pragmatic path that reduces costs by treating pain more effectively—not just shifting them to employees.

Hospice and Palliative Care

Florida is a National Leader Among the States Looked to for Best Practices in Compassionate Care

Florida's aging population is driving sustained demand for cost-effective, patient-centered care across the continuum. Palliative care—non-curative, interdisciplinary support for patients with serious but often nonterminal conditions—improves quality of life and can lower overall costs when introduced early in the disease course. Hospice provides end-of-life care once a clinician certifies a terminal prognosis; in Florida, hospice providers operate under a Certificate of Need (CON) program that authorizes new entrants only when unmet need is demonstrated through twice-yearly batching cycles.

Florida TaxWatch 2025 Legislative Session Wrap-Up

Pre-Budget Edition

Florida TaxWatch’s 2025 Legislative Session Wrap-Up report provides a concise but comprehensive overview of the extraordinary budget impasse that extended this year’s session to June 6, 2025, the narrow scope of allowed legislation (including the General Appropriations Act, budget conforming bills, the House and Senate tax packages, and the Rural Renaissance bill), and the high-stakes negotiations that will resume on May 12 in conference committee.

Enhancing Lives, Ensuring Accountability: The Value of Florida’s Behavioral Health Managing Entities

Tenth Year Review

/ Categories: Research, Cost Savings, Health Care

Florida’s Behavioral Health Managing Entities (BHMEs) are at the heart of an innovative, community-based network delivering critical mental health and substance use services across the state. This report’s summary reveals how BHMEs efficiently coordinate a vast network of providers with minimal overhead—ensuring accessible, continuous care for vulnerable populations—while highlighting the risk that stagnant operational funding poses to their long-term sustainability. It ultimately recommends boosting operational funding from 3% to 5% to maintain the system’s effectiveness and guide future policy decisions.

The Consequences of a Census Undercount on Florida’s Healthcare Funding

/ Categories: Research, Census Institute, Census, Health Care

Florida’s 2020 Census undercount has put billions of federal healthcare dollars at risk. With 750,000 residents uncounted, the state is projected to lose up to $21 billion in funding for Medicaid, CHIP, and other essential programs. This miscount impacts hospital planning, healthcare access, and federal funding formulas, costing Florida taxpayers $2.3 billion annually in lost Medicaid funds alone.

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