A sales tax to pay for cardiac testing? Broward voters may get to decide

Broward voters could get a say on whether they want to pay for eligible residents to have access to free preventive cardiac screening tests.

The tests could be funded by a new sales tax, which will be tacked on to things bought in Broward such as clothes, cars and household goods.

Now, Broward County commissioners will decide next week whether to place an item on the Nov. 5, 2024, general election ballot that would create a “Health Care Surtax.” If voters were to agree, a quarter of a percent will be levied for 10 years before being re-evaluated. If approved, the health care tax would add 25 cents of tax to a $100 purchase.

The test is called a cardiac CT scan, which is an imaging test that uses X-rays so doctors can see the heart and blood vessels. With an injection of iodine into the patient, a process known as “with contrast,” doctors can see the plaque in the coronary arteries that could potentially lead to trouble.

The tax would cover the cost of the medical tests, which would then be free of charge. Only Broward residents ages 45 to 70 years of age would qualify, and they must have health insurance.

The latest initiative would build on a pilot program already underway.

A previous effort by Commissioner Mark Bogen, in 2021, that would have put a referendum on the 2022 ballot for a half-penny sales tax to purchases to pay for county residents to have access to the cardiac test, did not have momentum among county commissioners.

But in 2022, he proposed a pilot program where Broward taxpayers would fund the free screenings, but it would come from county coffers generated by property taxes and not from a new sales tax that had previously been considered. The plan was approved in June 2022 for $10 million of county funds to be set aside for the tests. So far, $2.4 million has been spent, according to a county spokesman.

There is no charge to residents, and it costs about $500 a test, according to county officials. More than 1,300 people have taken the test and about 59% of those people needed treatment, ranging from open heart surgery, a stent or medications.

Bogen said the focus of the initiative should not be on the taxes. Broward has saved the lives “of hundreds of people.”

Bogen said the program needs to be continued, and expanded to include cancer screenings. Four hospitals offer the test and residents sign up at TakeHeartTest.com.

“I’m trying to keep it around for 10 years and the only way to fund it is through the voters’ nominal tax,” he said. “Let the voters decide.”

It is estimated that the levy of one quarter cent of the surtax would generate $125 million in revenue “on a conservative estimate” each year, according to county documents.

If commissioners next week were to agree place the item on the November ballot, they would vote to give it a second and final approval on May 7.

Currently, the Florida state sales tax rate is 6%. Broward already has a 1% sales tax, which voters approved in 2018. That 30-year Broward tax funds $16 billion of transportation improvements.

If the new tax is approved, this means the total sales tax would be 7.25%, which does not apply to most foods or medicine. So if the health care tax were approved, the total sales tax in Broward would be $7.25 for a $100 purchase.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash