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By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On February 15, 2017, the House Health Quality Subcommittee unanimously passed the direct primary care bill, HB 161, with one amendment. The House bill has two committees left. The bill specifies that a direct primary care agreement is not insurance and is not subject to the Florida Insurance Code. …
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On February 15, 2017, the House Health Quality Subcommittee chaired by Dr. Pigman, an emergency room physician, adopted wide ranging telehealth regulations as part of their committee bill on health care access. The vote on the bill was 10-3. The three no votes were cast by Reps. Jones, Mercado…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee had a second panel discussion about workers’ compensation on February 8, 2017. This was the last panel discussion the committee will have on workers’ compensation. Like the last committee meeting on comp, panelists were provided topics and subtopics by committee staff to frame…
By: Greenberg Traurig On February 8, 2017, the House Health Innovation Subcommittee meeting focused on direct primary care and the prescription drug pricing website run by AHCA. Please note there is a bill already filed this Session, HB 589, to increase the number of drugs listed on the website from 100 to 300 and to…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House TNC bill (HB 221), a priority of the FIC Auto Committee, passed its first committee on February 8, 2017 by a vote of 14-1. The committee ranking minority member providing the lone vote in opposition to the bill. The bill was not amended in committee and has…
The House Health Quality Subcommittee met on February 8, 2017 to discuss telehealth and healthcare workforce. Following are notes from the meeting provided by Greenberg Traurig. The committee packet referred to in the notes can be found here.) Telehealth Presentations Prepared by: Greenberg Traurig Paula Guy, President and CEO, Salus Telehealth Ms. Guy conducted an…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel In the Cabinet meeting on February 7, 2017, Florida Insurance Commissioner Altmaier updated the Governor and Cabinet on AOB. He referred to AOB reform as one of the Office’s “highest priorities” noting AOB impacts over 90% of Florida homeowners because most homeowners are insured by domestic carriers or Citizens…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate Banking & Insurance Committee passed the frozen formulary/continuity of prescription care bill, SB 182, on February 7, 2017. When explaining the bill, Sen. Mayfield, the bill sponsor, characterized the bill as a “consumer protection and patient protection bill.” She told the committee the bill “requires health plans…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On February 7, 2017, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee unanimously approved the direct primary care bill, SB 240, with one amendment. The bill specifies that a direct primary care agreement is not insurance and is not subject to the Florida Insurance Code. It also specifies what information a…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel Sen. Tom Lee, chair of the Senate Community Affairs Committee with jurisdiction over Florida’s Building Code, has proposed a committee bill (SPB 7000) outlining sweeping changes to the Code. Sen. Lee is very knowledgeable about building code issues as he works in the construction industry. The bill as…