Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On March 3, 2020, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved SB 1676, an amended bill related to a direct care workers that includes language prohibiting health plans and HMOs from requiring insureds to receive medical care from a APRN – Independent Practitioner (IP), from using an insured’s cost sharing responsibility…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel During its meeting on March 3, 2020, the Senate Appropriations Committee expanded the Senate consultant pharmacist bill, SB 1094, over objections from the physician community. However, there are still differences with the House expanded scope of pharmacy practice bills which have to be worked out. The Committee adopted a…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The timeframe to file an initial property insurance claim was reduced from 3 years to 24 months after a heated and lengthy discussion and debate that called into question the process by which the bill was amended to include the timeframe reduction by the Minority Leader and former Senate…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel There are several omnibus insurance bills in the House and Senate this Session. The only omnibus bill moving in the Senate is SB 1606 because the other omnibus bill, SB 1334, is stuck in committee. SB 1606 passed its last Senate committee, Appropriations, on March 3, 2020 without…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House property insurance contingency risk multiplier bill (HB 7071) which essentially codifies the federal standard allowing use of a multiplier for fees in only rare and exceptional cases was heard on the House floor on Special Order on March 3, 2020. Rep. Beltran (R), the bill sponsor,…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 1726 tweaks the health insurance shared savings program and is contained in the Agency for Healthcare Administration agency package which contains other non-insurance related provisions related to the agency. It passed its last committee on March 3, 2020 without amendment. It will now be heard on the Senate floor…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel During its meeting on March 3, 2020, the Senate Appropriations Committee amended part of its court jurisdiction bill (SB 1510) onto a different courts bill, SB 1392 (link). SB 1392 initially primarily dealt with allowing alternative offices for district court of appeal judges. SB 1510, the court jurisdiction stand-alone…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate asbestos trust claims bill is ready to be heard on the Senate floor after clearing its last committee on March 2, 2020 without amendment. The Senate bill was not controversial in committee. FIC supported the Senate bill in committee. The House bill (HB 741) has already…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel House and Senate bills relating to TNC advertising, luxury TNCs, vicarious liability of TNCs, and TNCs for disabled persons is ready for the floor of both chambers. Thus, the bills are in good position to pass this Session. The House bill passed its last committee last week and the…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 1148, a bill regulating electric bikes (e-bikes) and essentially treating them like bikes that are pedaled, passed its last committee of reference in the Senate on March 2, 2020 without amendment. No committee members asked questions or debated the bill. The House e-bike bill (HB 971) has…