JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Itiyah Yisrael is just like you: a mother, a wife, and a woman with a career spanning more than 20 years.
But everything changed when she got sick—after opting out of her job’s health insurance.
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“It was too high,” Yisrael explained. “It was almost $250 per pay period.”
Without coverage, Yisrael ended up in the hospital.
“My blood pressure dropped really low. I was having syncope episodes where I was feeling like I was going to faint,” Yisrael recounted.
Then things got worse.
“Not too long after that, I ended up losing my position. So now I don’t have income, and I don’t have medical insurance, which is all scary within itself,” Yisrael said.
While hospitalized, Yisrael was referred to Jacksonville’s HealthLink program. She called it a lifeline during one of her toughest moments.
The program connects uninsured residents with doctors free of charge—aiming to keep people out of busy and expensive emergency rooms.
But the program is under scrutiny.
City Councilman Rory Diamond raised concerns about possible misuse of taxpayer funds, conflicts of interest, and even allegations of fraud involving Telescope Health—the company running HealthLink.
He outlined those concerns in a letter to Duval DOGE Committee Chair Ron Salem and is asking for a review of the program.
So far, Diamond told News4JAX, no information has been released about any potential criminal misuse of funds.
“That’s why we do the investigation,” Diamond said. “We can get to the bottom of it and answer that question pretty easily.”
For Yisrael, the debate highlights a disconnect between city leaders who argue the program is an unnecessary expense and residents like her who rely on it.
“I completely beg to differ, because like me, someone who has had medical insurance for all my working life, that I wasn’t able to afford it, does that mean now I don’t deserve health care?” Yisrael said.