Florida physicians call on DeSantis to stop politicizing health care
Florida physicians call on DeSantis, Republican-led Legislature to stop politicizing health care and harming patients
As physicians across Florida, we are concerned by a number of bills making their way toward law that could endanger the safety of LGBTQ children and patients’ access to health care. These bills include HB 1557, or the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and HB 747, which would give doctors the right to deny care to patients based on their discriminatory beliefs. We urge our lawmakers and Governor DeSantis to get politics out of health care and instead focus on protecting access to care for our patients.
The “Don’t Say Gay” bill being pushed by some Republican legislators would prohibit classroom discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools, alienating LGBTQ students who may not have safe situations at home and silencing important conversations about identity, health, and well-being within the classroom. This bill is particularly troubling as a report conducted by The Trevor Project last year said that 42 percent of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth. This bill goes directly against providing a safe and accepting environment for students, and we worry that this legislation could result in declining mental health and even higher rates of youth suicide.
Another bill blatantly politicizing health care coming from Governor Ron DeSantis and his allies in the state legislature would threaten the health and well-being of even more Floridians by sanctioning discrimination in the system. The “Right to Deny Care” bill, as it should be called, would allow health care providers and insurers to refuse to provide or pay for care that conflicts with their beliefs, even if it’s in the best interest of the patient to receive the care. From making it harder to access contraception or abortion to refusing needed gender-affirming care and beyond, this discriminatory bill violates the duty of physicians to provide care and could have a devastating impact on the lives of our most vulnerable patients.
Our duty as medical professionals is to advocate for our patients, and that includes calling on our elected leaders to put health care ahead of scoring cheap political points. Because Republican leaders have refused to expand Medicaid in our state, health care can already be difficult, even impossible to access for many Floridians. We should be working to expand access, not limit it, and no one should be denied access to critical care, or denied a welcoming space to learn more about their identity and well-being. We call on our lawmakers and Gov. DeSantis to reject these bills that will undoubtedly risk the health of our patients and all Floridians when they need access to care. We further call on them to stop their politicization of health care and start putting health first.
Sincerely,
| Leonardo Alonso, DO; Emergency Medicine (Jacksonville) |
| Robert Anderson, MD; Radiology (Titusville) |
| Amy Aqua, MD; Pediatrics (Wellington) |
| Catherine Avener, MD; Hospitalist (Orlando) |
| Judith Banks, MD; Pediatrics (Gainesville) |
| Ankush Bansal, MD; Internal Medicine (Delray Beach) |
| Susan Beil, Md; Gynecology (Delray Beach) |
| Lawrence Bergman, MD; Pediatrics (Wellington) |
| Mark Birnbaum, MD; Orthopedic Surgery (Orlando) |
| Jeanie Branconi, MD; Family Medicine (Apollo Beach) |
| Elaine Broad, MD; Anesthesia (Miami) |
| Megan Buck, MD; Anesthesiology (Delray Beach) |
| William Carter, MD; Plastic Surgery (Tampa) |
| Hannah Cianci, DO; Emergency Medicine (Sarasota) |
| Isaiah Cochran, MD; Family Medicine (Orlando) |
| Marc Cohen, MD; Urology (Sarasota) |
| Robin Cook, MD; Ophthalmology (Naples) |
| Elizabeth Daquila, MD; Family (New Smyrna Beach) |
| Melanie de Souza, MD; Internal Medicine (Safety Harbor) |
| Stacy De-Lin, MD; Family Medicine (Fort Myers) |
| Maria DeCastro, DO; Neurology (Tampa) |
| Sonya Dominguez, MD; Family Medicine (Fleming Island) |
| Kirsten Dowling, MD; Pediatric Primary Care (Jacksonville) |
| Ranjan Duara, MD; Neurology (Miami) |
| Lorent Duce, MD; Anesthesiology (Gainesville) |
| Marilyn Dumont-Driscoll, MD, PhD; Pediatrics (Newberry) |
| William Early, MD; Hematology/Oncology (Plantation) |
| Eugene Eisman, MD; Internal Medicine/Cardiology (North Miami Beach) |
| Elizabeth Etkin-Kramer, MD; Obstetrical and Gynecology (Miami Beach) |
| Maher Fanous, MD; Ophthalmology (Gainesville) |
| Joseph France, MD; Ophthalmology (Ormond Beach) |
| Laura Gaffney, MD; Internal Medicine/Pediatrics (Clearwater) |
| Laura Gallegos, MD; Emergency Medicine (Winter Park) |
| Teresa Gallo-Thys, DO; Internal Medicine (Boynton Beach) |
| Philip Gelber, MD; Cardiology (Longboat Key) |
| Norman Goldberg, MD; Pediatrics (Miami) |
| David Goldberg, MD; Gastroenterology (Miami) |
| Howard Goldman, MD; Ophthalmology (Delray Beach) |
| Rebecca Gomez, MD; Hospitalist (Orlando) |
| Rebecca Gomez, MD; Hospitalist (Orlando) |
| Andrea Gorjaczew, DO; Emergency Medicine (Fernandina Beach) |
| Cecilia Grande, MD; Obstetrical and Gynecology (Pinecrest) |
| Michael Haller, MD; Pediatrics (Gainesville) |
| Alan Halperin, MD; Internal Medicine (Atlantic Beach) |
| Eloise Harman, MD; Pulmonary/Critical care (Gainesville) |
| Robert Harmon, MD; General Preventive Medicine (Jacksonville) |
| Keith Holden, MD; Internal Medicine (Jacksonville Beach) |
| Yves Homsy, MD; Urology (Tampa) |
| Rachel Humphrey, MD; Maternal and Fetal Medicine (Orlando) |
| Jorge Infantes, MD; Emergency medicine (Pembroke Pines) |
| Caroline Jackson, DO; Family Medicine (Valrico) |
| Edgard Janer, MD; Rheumatology (Tampa) |
| Mark Jawahir, MD; Interventional Pain Management (Sebring) |
| Jyotika Joshi, MD; Obstetrical and Gynecology (Lake Worth) |
| Anupam Kamal, MD; Internal Medicine (Safety Harbor) |
| Alex Kammer, MD; Gynecologist (Boca Raton) |
| Julie Kellogg, MD; Pediatrics (Orange Park) |
| Jaime Kibler, DO; Family Medicine (Jacksonville) |
| Jeffrey Kirk, MD; Vascular Surgery (Tallahassee) |
| Jeremy Kirtz, MD; Emergency medicine (Tampa) |
| Paul Kornberg, MD; PM&R (Tampa) |
| Nelson Kraucak, MD; Family practice (Summerfield) |
| Donald Levin, MD; Psychiatry (Jupiter) |
| Maurice Douglas Levy, MD; General Surgery (Gainesville) |
| Sarah Lord, MD; Internal Medicine (Tampa) |
| Anna Lowell, DO, MPH; Family Medicine (Eustis) |
| Matthew Mahoney, MD; Dermatology (Largo) |
| Mona Mangat, MD; Allergy/Immunology (St Petersburg) |
| Rebecca McPherson, MD; Neonatology (Jensen Beach) |
| Dipti Mehta, MD; Hospitalist (Palm Harbor) |
| Carlos Mendez, MD; Pediatrician (Bradenton) |
| Jorge Mendia, MD; Obstetrics & Gynecology (Key Biscayne) |
| Moideen Moopen, MD; Gastroenterologist (Port Charlotte) |
| David Moss, MD; Psychiatry (Orange Park) |
| Rajendran Nair, MD, FAACP; Anesthesiology (Pensacola) |
| Paul Nanda, MD; Family Medicine (Tampa) |
| Sarah Neilly, MD; Critical Care (Melbourne) |
| Carlos A Noguera, MD; Medical Oncology (Miami) |
| Julia O’Malley, MD; Family Medicine (Ocala) |
| Chris Okonkwo, MD; Pediatrics (Ocala) |
| Radamés A. Oliver, MD; Emergency Medicine (Jacksonville) |
| Jasmine Patterson, MD; Pediatric emergency medicine (Tampa) |
| Annette Pelaez, MD; Obstetrical and Gynecology (Miami) |
| Marco Perez, MD; Family Medicine (Cape Coral) |
| Ernesto Pretto, MD, MPH; Anesthesiology/Critical Care/ Epidemiology (Coral Gables) |
| Sushil Puskur, MD; Child Psychiatry (Ocala) |
| Muttathil Ravindra Nathan, MD; Cardiology (Brooksville) |
| Ivonne Reynolds, DO; Obstetrical and Gynecology (Margate) |
| Sharon Rodriguez, MD; Internal Medicine (Miami) |
| Fred Romano, DO; Emergency Medicine (Sarasota) |
| Vera M Rosado-Odom, MD; Infectious Diseases (Winter Garden) |
| Margaret Rose, MD; Nephrology (Tampa) |
| Paul Rosenblum, MD; Ophthalmologist (Palm Beach Gardens) |
| John Rubin, MD; Internal Medicine (Boca Raton) |
| Ashok Sastry, MD; nephrology (Sarasota) |
| Lionel Savadier, MD; Radiology (Hollywood) |
| Jennifer Schell, MD; Obstetrician Gynecologist (Miami) |
| Robyn Schickler, MD; Gynecology (Tampa) |
| Rashmi Schramm, MD; Family Medicine (Ponte Vedra) |
| Cliff Selsky, Ph.D., MD; Pediatrics, pediatric hematology/oncology (Maitland) |
| Neelam Seth, MD; Pediatrics (Coral Springs) |
| Kanta Shah, MD; Physiatrist (Cabana Club) |
| Joe Shands, MD; Medicine (Gainesville) |
| Thomas Shen, MD; Allergy (Leesburg) |
| Joel Shlian, MD; Family Medicine (Boca Raton) |
| Deborah shlian, MD; Family Medicine (Boca Raton) |
| Munira Siddiqui, MD; Endocrinology (Clearwater) |
| Scott Sittler, MD; Pathology (Orlando) |
| Nancy Staats, MD; Anesthesiology (Atlantic Beach) |
| Rosita P Stoik, MD; Rheumatologist (Florida) |
| Katherine Sutherland, MD; Obstetrical and Gynecology (Winter Haven) |
| Christopher Tana, DO; Emergency Medicine (Port Charlotte) |
| David Thiele, MD; Family Medicine (Plant City) |
| Dean Tully, MD; Emergency Medicine (Saint Petersburg) |
| Neal Verma, MD; Family medicine (Middleburg) |
| Maria Vintimilla, MD; Rheumatology (Port Orange) |
| Douglas Weiland, MD; Orthopaedic (Oldsmar) |
| Amy Weiss, MD MPH; Adolescent Medicine (Tampa) |
