Florida Blue is playing chicken with Broward’s public health care systems, putting our children at risk.

On July 1, after failed contract negotiations, Broward Health was reclassified as “out-of-network” with Florida Blue. South Broward’s Memorial Healthcare went out-of-network on Sept. 1 for that reason. Now, Cleveland Clinic is in negotiations with Florida Blue. If the pattern holds, Cleveland Clinic could be out of network by March.

The public hospital districts say they are simply asking Florida Blue to reimburse them at rates comparable to those given to other South Florida health care providers. Florida Blue claims those hospitals are demanding unreasonable rates.

My husband and I have complex medical histories. We have Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance through my employer. Most of our physicians are with Broward Health. We now must find a new primary care doctor and at least eight new specialists. It’s frustrating to have to start over. I can push through, but what I can’t abide is Florida Blue putting my child and all Broward children at risk.

The federal No Surprises Act ensures emergency care at any hospital at in-network rates. If my son needs to be hospitalized, our only local option that is in-network with Florida Blue is the pediatric unit at Holy Cross Hospital, with 22 beds. If my son needed lifesaving surgery, we would be in an untenable situation. The cost of out-of-network care could be a crippling financial blow for us.

Florida Blue’s website says it is “always looking out for you, your family, and your community.” Its bold blue banner proclaims “We’re with you all the way, Florida.” I won’t gamble with my son’s life. But it seems that Florida Blue will.

Rev. Corrie Montoya, Davie

An immigration nightmare

We’re renovating a condo in Wilton Manors. Two workers arrived to install countertops, carefully cutting granite and quartz — their skill evident. As I tried to engage in Spanish, one man showed a heaviness that pierced through the noise of saws, his silence broken only by his tears.

The man’s best friend and the friend’s wife were pulled over by ICE. The reason: Tinted windows. He said his friend was thrown to the ground, his wife forced face-down on the hood. They were taken away in different cars. His friend was deported to El Salvador; his wife is in a holding center awaiting a hearing to decide her fate.

This couple has lived here 20 years. He’s a master carpenter; she worked in a restaurant. They have no criminal history, are active in their community and pillars in their church. They are not “criminals” the Trump administration claims to be deporting. These are neighbors, contributors, parents.

The cruelty deepens. They have four young children, all U.S. citizens. They had no chance to say goodbye. If she is deported, the children will either be forced into a life of poverty and danger in El Salvador, or remain here under the care of this caring guy and his wife, who have two kids of their own and work tirelessly to make ends meet.

I am distraught and feel helpless. This is not fair. This is not humane.

I cannot look at my new kitchen countertop without remembering the tears of a man who is heartbroken for people he loves. We have to be better than this.

Robert Rhoads, Wilton Manors

Immigration lunacy writ large

In Charlotte, N.C., 30,000 children stayed out of school because ICE agents swept the city for illegal immigrants who kept their kids out of school. (The city has a population of nearly 1 million.)

The Trump administration has declared war on Biden’s immigration policy because America cannot afford such an unplanned population surge. It challenges our ability to provide housing and police, health care and schools, and it disrupts governance of cities and towns.

Without major deportations, we will suffer major economic shortfalls, a price no nation can afford. Yet Democrats disrupt and fight authorities at every turn. This is lunacy writ large. It is a battle that the government must win or succumb to anarchy, which might shred forever the harmony we have known for 150 years.

Richard Klitzberg, Boca Raton

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