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Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare logos are on display during a Broward Legislative Delegation meeting at the Memorial Regional Hospital Conference Center in Hollywood on Oct. 27, 2025. A bill to more closely align the hospital taxing districts appears to have failed again in the 2026 legislative session.
South Florida Sun Sentinel file
A legislative battle over the future of Broward County’s public health care systems has hit a significant roadblock.
The controversial bill that would empower Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System — two separate health taxing districts — to bypass antitrust laws and launch joint ventures was “temporarily postponed” in the Florida Senate’s Community Affairs Committee on Feb. 3, 2026. By all accounts, it is dead, at least for this year.
This development marks a pivotal moment for the legislation, and potentially for all Florida health districts.
Supporters — led by Broward Health and Memorial’s shared CEO Shane Strum — frame the bill as a vital tool to expand health care services in Broward and cut administrative waste. However, a coalition of critics has branded it a “backdoor merger” that threatens to shield taxpayer-funded entities from public accountability. With the legislative session already racing toward its March 13 conclusion, it appears that Strum’s “Better Together” vision, reflected in the bill, may be facing the same quiet death that claimed a similar proposal just one year ago.
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South Florida Sun Sentinel
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