Broward County Commissioners Vote to Allow Federal Health Navigators

Federal health navigators trained to help people figure out the new health insurance market place starting Oct. 1.

Broward County commissioners voted on a resolution mandating full access to federal health navigators and other authorized persons at all county health centers, despite an order by Gov. Rick Scott banning them.

Federal health navigators trained to help people figure out the new health insurance market place starting Oct. 1.

"The federal government has sent navigators into our state that we don't know what they're going to do with all the personal information that they're getting. We don't know how they're going to share it. We don't know how safe they're going to keep it," Scott said in Miami last week.

Scott has ordered navigators be banned from county health departments across the state.

"There is a tremendous need in this county for this information and guess what, these facilities are owned by Broward County, and as far as I'm concerned, the governor could go do and say what he wants but he can't do it here in Broward County," said Mayor Kristin Jacobs.

Chip LaMarca was the only commissioner who voted no because he doesn't approve of starting a fight with Tallahassee.

"Let's just hand it over and say we're going to run our own little government down here. I can't support it not because i don't support the fact that people should have health insurance it's the law of the land like i said but the bottom line is I think this is the wrong tact to do this," he said.

Jacobs said the state Department of Health was being notified of the commission's decision to allow navigators.

"In an unprecedented move, the Broward County Commission today rejected the Department of Health's guidance to protect patient privacy and ensure patient confidentiality in County Health Departments," the department said in an email.

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