Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill mandating health insurance coverage for children with hearing loss from birth through 21 years of age passed its first committee on January 21, 2020 when the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved SB 1006 without amendment. According to the bill sponsor, Sen. Baxley (R), the bill affects…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 599 by Rep. Anna Maria Rodriguez (R) expands the scope of practice for consultant pharmacists. A similar bill passed the House last year, but died in the Senate when it was never heard in committee. This year’s consultant pharmacist bill was approved by its first committee of reference…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House Health Quality Subcommitee approved HB 955 during its meeting on January 15, 2020 with an 11-2 vote. The bill curtails physician referrals to hospitals where the physician holds an investment interest. Specifically, the bill prohibits a health care provider from referring patients to any hospital in…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 389 passed its second committee on January 15, 2020 when the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee approved the bill. The bill has one committee left. The Senate companion bill, SB 714, has not yet been heard in committee. The bill expands the scope of practice for pharmacists by…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 15, 2020, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee passed SB 116 with one amendment. The bill requires individual and group health insurance policies and health maintenance organization (HMO) contracts that provide coverage for prescription insulin drugs for the treatment of diabetes to cap the cost sharing of…
By: Greenberg Traurig HB 711 by Rep. Colleen Burton (R-Lakeland) was approved by the House Health Market Reform Subcommittee on December 11, 2019. The bill amends the Florida Antitrust Act related to transactions by hospitals, hospital systems, and provider organizations. It imposes reporting requirements when a transaction between two entities in the health care market…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel During its meeting on December 10, 2019, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee ran out of their allotted committee time before hearing the cap the copay for insulin bill, SB 116. It will likely be set for the next committee meeting which will be the first week of…
By: FIC lobbyist Joy Ryan, Meenan Law The Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board (FHIAB) held a call on December 3 to take action on its legislative proposals. The full list of proposals the Board considered can be found here. The Board approved all of the proposals, with the exception of 2 proposals – Frozen Formulary…