Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate telehealth bill, SB 280, passed its second committee on January 30, 2018 without amendment. The bill has two committee stops left. SB 280 defines telehealth and specifies what types of Florida licensed health care providers can provide telehealth. Parameters for telehealth services, including standard of care, prescribing…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 30, 2018, the Senate Health Policy Committee passed SB 492, the any willing pharmacy/mail order bill without amendment. The bill has one committee stop left. The House companion bill, HB 289, has passed its first committee and has two committees left. For individual, group, and HMO health…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee approved a completely new version of the autoglass bill (SB 396) during its meeting on January 29, 2018. The changes came via a strike all amendment (add adopted strike all number) that was adopted by the Committee. The bill became controversial as a…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 29, 2018, the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee approved SB 756 with no amendments. The Senate bill has one committee stop left. The House companion bill, HB 533, has cleared its committees and will be heard on the House floor on Wednesday with a vote on final…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A Senate bill making significant changes to the mediation process that are harmful to the insurance industry was postponed a second time in its first committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill sponsor, Sen. Steube, who also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, postponed the bill without explanation during the…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate construction defect statute of repose bill, SB 536, was significantly amended on January 25, 2018 when it was heard and approved by its first committee of reference. The bill has two committees left. This is the second year bills have been filed on the statute of limitations…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 25, 2018, the full House passed its direct primary care bill, HB 37, by a vote of 97-10 and sent the bill to the Senate for consideration. Although all of the “no” votes were cast by Democrats, most of the Democrats voted for the bill. A…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 1412 makes the salary of a Judge of Compensation Claim (JCC) equal to the salary of a county court judge with the Deputy Chief JCC making $1,000 more than a county court judge. The bill passed its first Senate committee on January 25, 2018 and has two committees…
By: Greenberg Traurig The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the Senate opioid bill during its meeting on January 24, 2018. Following is a recap of the meeting prepared by staff at Greenberg Traurig: SB 8 Controlled Substances by Sen. Benacquisto (Passed) SummarySen. Benacquisto stated that this bill makes a number of changes to Florida Statutes. This bill does…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The full Senate is expected to pass its step therapy and prior authorization bill, SB 98, during its next sitting, on January 31, 2018. The Senate heard the bill on the floor for the first time on January 24, 2018 and adopted one amendment to it. The…