Indigent Health Care
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For more than 90 years, concerned Polk County residents have made a commitment to fund healthcare for those financially vulnerable and unable to afford care. In 2004, they voted to make it a priority when they approved a half-cent sales surtax (F.S. 212.0055 (7)) that would benefit the indigent population.
Polk County’s Indigent HealthCare Division (IHC) administers the county’s healthcare “safety net” program funded by the sales surtax. The program is monitored by a local oversight board, the Citizen’s Healthcare Oversight Committee, which is comprised of Polk County medical providers, healthcare administrators and residents. The committee provides a forum for community participation in Polk County’s healthcare planning.
Indigent Healthcare works with physicians and clinics to provide healthcare services for qualifying individuals. Through a network of providers in Polk County, IHC manages the delivery of primary, specialty, and urgent care and hospital services to the medically poor. In addition to healthcare programs, IHC is also offers outreach services.
The voter-approved indigent care sales surtax has had a ripple-effect of “wellness” that benefits many people who call Polk County home.
