The recession is doing more to affect the health of Floridians than just stressing people out. As people lose their jobs, or fear losing their jobs, it is affecting the elective procedures and surgeries that people may need or want to have, but are not life threatening. Knee replacements, weight loss surgeries, and cosmetic surgeries are all examples of these types of procedures. For many who have lost their jobs and often their health insurance, these things are put on the back burner and delayed. However, for many people who still have a job and insurance, these folks are rushing out to have them done for fear of losing their coverages in the near future. For some elective procedures, such as a colonoscopy, a patient’s life can in fact be in danger. If not delayed, this preventative measure could save a patient’s life by treating a problem before it gets too serious. Putting off such a procedure can lead to bigger and more dangerous consequences down the road. Hospitals too are feeling the financial crunch of this erratic time, for some procedures they are booked up, for others, they are scrambling to fill all the cancellations. What will be the long term impact of this recession on both the health of Florida’s citizens, as well as the finances of its hospitals?