The cost of living continues to explode under President Donald Trump, and now, a new CNN report on Florida seniors has exposed the reality of this economic ruin.
On Tuesday, CNN News Central featured a segment from chief domestic correspondent Phil Mattingly, examining the economic struggle of senior citizens in Florida. As host Dana Bash explained as she introduced the segment, Florida's particular characteristics have made it an ideal place to measure the impact of rising costs on some of the country's most vulnerable residents.
"Florida has long been a top retirement destination thanks to its climate, tax benefits and massive senior communities," Bash explained. "That also makes Florida a magnifying glass on the impact of rising costs on Americans with the least cushion to absorb the blow. One example: healthcare. As ObamaCare subsidies expire, premiums are expected to double for nearly 5 million people in Florida. Some are being left to choose: my house or my health."
Early on in the segment, Mattingly spoke to senior Ellen Trocino, a nurse he met at a volunteer health clinic she was attending as a patient. Trocino said she had been living in her car for about a week, and gave herself low odds of managing to get housing anytime soon, given the steep cost of a down payment or a security deposit.
"Roughly a million Florida seniors depend on state-funded insurance, and that lifeline is fraying," Mattingly explained. "Florida turned down federal dollars to expand coverage to residents just above the poverty line... And cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill Beautiful Bill act could strip coverage from more than a million additional Floridians by 2034. Medical expenses. Rent. These are just some of the costs bearing down hardest on those with the least cushion left."
Mattingly also spoke to healthcare advocate Scott Darius about the misconceptions many have about how helpful Medicaid can be for Florida residents.
"What people assume about Medicaid is that it's there for all low-income people, right?" Darius said. "But in Florida, if I'm a single parent with two kids, the most I can make in a year and still qualify for Medicaid is $8,000, for the year. But what we've seen in expansion states is that once you do that, the cost of private insurance actually goes down for everyone else."
Another struggling senior, Phoebe White, told Mattingly about the hardships she has experienced trying to pay bills that keep going up, while her Social Security payments remain static.
"Somehow with prayer, I made it, and I'm not on the streets," White said. "I'm not homeless. I'm okay. And I do need my car. I do need my car just in case. Yeah, I need to sleep in it. And I pray that that never happens."
"You're actually thinking through like, I have to keep my car insurance up because I may have to live in my car?" Mattingly asked.
"Absolutely," White responded.