Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Greenberg Traurig The Senate Committee on Community Affairs met on March 5, 2019 to consider SB 426, Firefighters, by Senator Flores. The committee packet can be found here. SB 426, Firefighters, by Sen. Flores – PASSED Summary No summary of the bill given as Sen. Flores discussed the strike-all amendment first. Strike All Amendment…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House workers’ compensation bill surfaced on March 5, 2019. HB 1399 is sponsored by Rep. Byrd (R). After a quick review of the bill, it appears to address the following issues: More specificity for Petitions for Benefits (PFB) Good faith effort by claimant to resolve dispute before…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel During its meeting on March 5, 2019, the House Commerce Committee passed HB 387, a bill dealing with surplus lines. The bill was not amended. The bill: Continues to allow a per-policy fee charged by surplus lines agent but removes the $35 limit and requires fees to be…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House telehealth bill passed its first committee on March 5, 2019 without amendment. HB 23 allows Florida licensed health care providers to use telehealth within their scope of practice. It also allows out-of-state providers to use telehealth if they register. The bill establishes standards of practice for…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel During its meeting on March 5, 2019, the House Health Quality Subcommittee approved bills to expand the scope of practice for psychologists and pharmacists. HB 373 was approved with one amendment that did not change the substance of the bill. The bill expands the scope of practice for psychologists…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill dealing with referrals from health care providers to hospitals and out of network providers passed its first committee on March 5, 2019. The only amendment to the bill changed the effective date of it. HB 863 prohibits health care providers from referring patients to any hospital in…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 780 increases the salary of JCCs to the salary of a county court judge with the Chief Judge making $1,000 more. The bill also requires the JCC salaries to be paid out of the Workers’ Compensation Administration Trust Fund. The bill unanimously passed its first Senate committee…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate AOB bill that deals with property and auto glass AOBs made it out of the Banking and Insurance Committee on March 4, 2019 with a 5-3 vote after it was substantially revamped by a strike all amendment (306982) sponsored by the Sen. Broxson (R), who is also…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The bill to equalize the payment for long term care insolvencies by the Florida Life & Health Guaranty Association (FLAHIGA) passed its first Senate committee on March 4, 2019. By a vote 8-0, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee passed SB 626 with a strike all amendment (687388) and…