Polk County, FL, budget cuts leave thousands without healthcare

Thousands of low-income residents will no longer be covered by Polk County, FL's indigent healthcare plan after it offered more benefits than it could afford and piled up a $15 million deficit. Polk County commissioners have voted to reduce the number of people covered by the Polk HealthCare Plan, scaling it back to 3,000 people in the upcoming fiscal year. Officials say 22,000 people were enrolled in the plan during 2006-07.