California Governor Gavin Newsom claimed on July 18 that Florida ranks “#51 in mental health care, #1 in home insurance costs, #1 in elder fraud, #1 in rent hikes.” A fact-check by PolitiFact found that Newsom’s accuracy is mixed, with Florida lagging in almost all areas but not consistently running dead last in each metric.
Mental Health Care Rankings
Florida has long ranked low on mental health care, with three reports showing the state last or second-to-last. A 2025 Rehabs.com report found Florida spent the lowest amount per capita on mental health of any state at $36.05, compared to Maine’s $362.75. However, a May 2023 Florida Hospital Association report ranked Florida 46th for mental health care access. Mental Health America ranked Florida 21st for mental health using 2024 data on overall mental illness prevalence and access to care. Forbes ranked Florida fourth-worst for mental health care access in January.
Home Insurance and Rent
Rankings for home insurance vary significantly depending on methodology. Some sources rank Florida first, while others place it third or ninth highest. A 2024 U.S. Census Bureau report found Florida had the highest share of homeowners paying $4,000 or more annually for insurance. On rent increases, Florida’s data shows variation based on timeframe. From 2020 to March 2023, Florida’s rent increased 45.77%, the most of all states. However, from 2024 to mid-2025, Florida ranked 15th highest with a 6.4% median increase, behind Montana at 20.7%. Rents in Florida have begun to stabilize and slightly decrease since 2024.
Elder Fraud
Florida ranked second in raw numbers of fraud reports filed by people over 60 in both 2023 and 2024, trailing California. However, one analysis found that when calculated per capita across all populations, Florida had the highest fraud complaints per capita. Arizona ranked highest in elderly fraud complaints per capita in 2023, with Florida in 12th place.
PolitiFact rated Newsom’s statement “Half True,” concluding that while Florida lags other states on all metrics mentioned, the rankings vary significantly and some claims were based on outdated data or incomplete analysis.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.wlrn.org/business/2025-07-28/newsom-florida-mental-health-ranking