Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A more limited retroactive denial of claims bill, HB 217, started moving in the House on January 30, 2018 when it passed its first subcommittee, the House Health Innovation Subcommittee, with a strike all amendment (#707915). The bill has two committee stops left. The vote on the bill…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 31, 2018, the full House heard HB 533 on the floor, rolled it to third reading, and passed the bill by a vote of 110-0. There were no floor amendments. The bill allows an insurer to condition the sale of insurance on the purchase of motor…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 1369 addresses several issues related to claims and lawsuits against nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The insurance part of the bill requires a nursing home to maintain professional liability only in an amount no less than $2 million per claim with a minimum aggregate of not less…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel This week, each chamber moved its step therapy/prior authorization bill putting it closer to passage if a compromise on the bill language can be made. The House bill (HB 199), which is preferred by health plans, passed its second committee on January 30, 2018 and has one committee…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A Senate bill making significant changes to the mediation process that are not beneficial to the insurance industry was postponed a third time in its first committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill sponsor, Sen. Steube, who also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, postponed the bill for the…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 30, 2018, the House Oversight, Transparency & Administration Subcommittee passed HB 227 with a strike all amendment (#982389) to narrow the scope of the bill. The amended bill loosens the requirements for first responders to collect workers’ compensation benefits for PTSD when there is no physical injury.…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel Bills dealing with insurance coverage for firefighters diagnosed with cancer were heard in the House and Senate on January 30, 2018. The Senate bill passed its first committee. The House bill was workshopped in its first subcommittee where a discussion of it was held, but no vote taken. Because…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 7012 reenacts and saves from repeal the public records exemption in current law for proprietary business information provided by insurers in the private market to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation for use in the Citizens Clearinghouse. The information is provided by insurers to the Citizens Clearinghouse and used to…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 1282 provides more disclosure to homeowners about the lack of flood coverage in their property insurance policy. The bill passed its first Senate committee on January 30, 2018 with two amendments. The two amendments adopted address concerns raised by insurers to the flood disclosure requirement contained in…
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…