Sales tax referendum, 2007

A referendum will be held on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 to determine whether or not the sales tax in Escambia County will be increased by one half-cent ($0.005) for a period of ten years, increasing the sales tax rate to 8.0% from the current tax rate of 7.5%. If passed, the additional tax would generate an expected $15 million to $17 million yearly to be used to fund primary and preventive healthcare for Escambia County residents who lack health insurance and meet certain other criteria.

Official ballot wording

The ballot voters will use words the measure as follows:

Half-Cent (½¢) Health Care Surtax

An additional half-cent (½¢) surtax on all sales, use and other transactions in Escambia County, Florida shall be levied by the County Commission beginning January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2018, to fund a basic managed health care program for delivery of basic health services to qualified, uninsured residents and to offset the County's required payments for Medicaid or other public programs.

Administration

If passed, the program would be administered by AccessEscambia, a non-profit 501(c)4 organization established in 2003 to study and address the increase in the number of Escambia County residents who lack health insurance. According to the AccessEscambia website, 66,000 or 20% of Escambia County residents "have no health insurance coverage and are not eligible for any publicly-funded programs".

The program would subsidize primary and preventive healthcare services including primary physician care, check-ups, screenings and immunizations, urgent care, chronic disease management, basic lab tests and x-rays, prescription medications, and transportation services.

To be eligible to receive the subsidized healthcare services AccessEscambia would administer, an Escambia County resident would have to meet the following criteria:

• Must have been an Escambia County resident for 2 or more years
• Must live at or below 150% of federal poverty level (proof of income must be provided)
• Must have been uninsured for at least the past 12 months
• Must be employed or actively seeking employment
• Must be ineligible for any other government program
• Must agree to pay all co-pays as specified in terms of program
• Must agree to not miss more than 2 consecutive appointments

The program would be administered by a "voluntary board to employ care managers to approve eligibility and confirm primary care is received". AccessEscambia claims that such an administration would comprise "less than 10 employees". Additionally, the Escambia County Commission would "appoint citizens to a watchdog committee which would oversee the program and receive an annual expenditure reports to be sure the money is spent appropriately".

Opposition

In addition to conservative citizens who oppose new taxes or feel that the proposal is a step toward socialized medicine, the AccessEscambia proposal faces opposition from those who oppose welfare programs or feel that the program would benefit a large number of legal immigrants. However, as noted above, applicants must provide proof of income with a federal tax return, which illegal immigrants will not be able to provide unless they have committed fraud. The only organizations officially opposed to the tax seem to be informal groups such as the "Citizens for Ethical Treatment of Taxpayers". Additionally, some opponents feel that a sales tax, which is a regressive tax (i.e it effectively taxes poorer taxpayers at a higher rate than more wealthy taxpayers), is not the best method to fund such a program.

On June 17, 2007, the Pensacola News Journal published an interview with tax opponent Al Hampton, a retired Sacred Heart Hospital executive. Hampton inferred that as a taxpayer he opposed any new tax, but stated that this tax concerned him especially due to the fact that it is a regressive tax, and that he feels the issue would be better addressed on the state or national level.