Gov. Rick Scott receives taxpayer-subsidized health insurance for $30 per month.

By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting

Gov. Rick Scott and his wife are getting taxpayer-subsidized health insurance for $30 per month, the Miami Herald reports.

And that’s for family coverage.

He and Ann are two of the 32,000 people enrolled in the program for top state officials. Those eligible pay $8.34 per month for individual coverage and $30 per month for family coverage.

In Scott’s defense, the Herald points out that Scott pushed for all state employees to pay the same premium and to cap the amount of health insurance coverage provided. But the legislature balked at the plan. Brian Burgess, Scott’s spokesman, refused to discuss details of the governor’s health insurance, calling it a “private matter.”

The story about Scott’s decision to take the taxpayer-subsidized, low-cost insurance comes at a time when questions are being raised about his office’s growing payroll. Scott recently hired a tea party activist to serve as a public liaison, one of seven such liaisons that Scott has hired to keep him apprised of public opinion at a cost of $400,000.

And Tallahassee insider Steve McNamara, Scott’s new chief of staff charged with rehabilitating the governor’s image, is making $189,000 — a 26 percent increase over what former chief of staff Mike Prendergast was paid.