Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 1029 relates to the merchandise gifts insurers are allowed to give to insureds, prospective insureds, or others for advertising. Under current law, insurers or agents can offer and make gifts of merchandise up to $25 per gift for advertising purposes without violating the unfair trade practices act. …
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill, HB 617, requiring pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) to obtain a certificate of authority (COA) from the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) to operate as a third party administrator and to require quarterly audits of each PBM regarding updates to maximum allowable cost (MAC) pricing information passed its…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SIU personnel from several insurers worked with the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services (DIFS) within the Department of Financial Services (DFS) to write this year’s fraud bill, HB 1007. The bill makes numerous changes to insurer SIU practices and fraud reporting – including more frequent and additional…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On March 27, 2017, the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee approved a proposed committee substitute (PCS) for an omnibus adjuster licensing and regulation bill, HB 911. The proposed committee substitute replaces the originally filed version of the bill and was not amended. The bill is primarily supported by the…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On March 23, 2017, the House passed the bill to overhaul the state group health insurance program primarily along party lines, with the Democrats voting against the bill. Overhaul of the state group health insurance program in this manner has been a priority of Speaker Corcoran’s for the past…
Federal Legislation Update: There are two proposals at the federal level that may be included in upcoming corporate tax reform plans that would have a disastrous impact on the insurance industry for our state:The first proposal, expected to be reintroduced by US Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), would deny tax deductions for certain reinsurance premiums paid…
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant (HB 1397, SB 406, SB 614, SB 1388, SB 1666, SB 1758) It is bound to come up at some point, but a 90-minute workshop by the Senate Health Policy Committee March 22 on implementation of Amendment #2 on medical marijuana focused on the number of producers, access by minors…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill designed to update regulation of discount medical plan organizations (DMPOs) was approved by the House Health and Human Services Committee on March 23, 2017 without amendment. HB 577 will now be heard on the House floor when set by the Rules Committee. The Senate companion, SB 430,…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel For the third week in a row, the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on his own bill during his committee meeting because he doesn’t have the votes to pass it. The postponed bill, SB 262, is a bill heavily supported by doctors and the trial…
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant With Sen. Dennis Baxley conceding he was a habitual violator but not any more, the Senate Transportation Committee March 22 voted for primary enforcement of Florida’s ban on texting while driving. This is the second Senate committee to endorse the bill, with two more scheduled to review it, including the…