Above the Fold - Walton County, Florida

On this episode of “Above the Fold – Walton County”, we discuss the Final 2024 Budget Hearing. We also delve into the expectations we should have for our elected officials, respect for the people and most importantly how WE need to be more involved in our community. We welcome feedback and open discussion here, or wherever you find our podcast. Our desire is to foster conversation, communication and ultimately, citizen accountability of our elected government. Our podcast is also available on iTunes and Spotify for those who enjoy listening to podcasts via those media.

On this episode of “Above the Fold – Walton County”, Shawn and Kevin discuss the 2024 budget and, more broadly, the implications of poor leadership and irresponsible government practices on the citizens of Walton County. We welcome feedback and open discussion here, or wherever you find our podcast. Our desire is to foster conversation, communication and ultimately, citizen accountability of our elected government.

On this episode of Above the Fold, Shawn and Kevin discuss the 2024 proposed budget for Walton County FL. In spite of multiple efforts to saddle the citizens of Walton County with increased tax burden under the auspices of funding critical infrastructure improvements, the BCC is de-prioritizing transportation funding once again within their proposed budget. Citizens of Walton County deserve to have their priorities represented, not special interests and agendas that do not serve the citizens as a whole.

In this podcast, Shawn and I discuss the proposed North Walton Doctors Hospital. Specifically we discuss the benefits and differences between Physician Owned Hospitals (POHs) and Non-Physician Owned Hospitals (Non-POHs). With the apparent competing interests in health care coming to North Walton, we believe it is crucial that we be informed as citizens regarding our healthcare options.Nearly 70% of U.S. physicians are employed by hospitals or corporate entities,Healthcare Finance, July 2021https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/nearly-70-us-physicians-are-employed-hospitals-or-corporate-entitiesCOVID-19’s Impact On Acquisitions of Physician Practices and Physician Employment 2019-2020, Physicians Advocacy Institute, June 2021https://www.physiciansadvocacyinstitute.org/Portals/0/assets/docs/Revised-6-8-21_PAI-Physician-Employment-Study-2021-FINAL.pdf?ver=K6dyoekRSC_c59U8QD1V-A%3d%3dComparison of Commercial Negotiated Price and Cash Price Between Physician-Owned Hospitals and Other Hospitals in the Same Hospital Referral Region, Jama Network, June 2023https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2806510?&utm_source=BulletinHealthCare&utm_medium=email&utm_term=062723&utm_content=NON-MEMBER&utm_campaign=article_alert-morning_rounds_daily&utm_uid=&utm_effort=HCA Healthcare Partners With Google Cloud to Accelerate Digital Transformation, May 2021https://investor.hcahealthcare.com/news/news-details/2021/HCA-Healthcare-Partners-With-Google-Cloud-to-Accelerate-Digital-Transformation/default.aspxHCA Healthcare hit with at least 4 class-action lawsuits days after disclosing massive data breach, Fierce Healthcare, July 2023https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/hca-healthcare-hit-least-4-class-action-lawsuits-days-after-disclosing-massive-dataHCA Healthcare UK, Gender Reassignment Surgeryhttps://www.hcahealthcare.co.uk/finder/specialists/miss-victoria-rose