Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant Senate workers comp package sponsor Rob Bradley predicted to the Senate Rules Committee April 19 that Senate and House negotiators will bridge differences on attorneys fees and hospital reimbursements and produce a solid agreement with significant reductions in workers’ comp costs. He spoke as the Rules Committee approved the Bradley…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House bill to shield workers’ comp claimant identifying information from claimant’s attorneys to prevent solicitation is ready for a floor vote after having its first floor hearing on April 19, 2017. The House should vote on the bill on April 20th. The Senate companion bill, SB 1008,…
By: Greenberg Traurig, FIC Lobbyist The House approved their workers’ compensation reform package on a vote of 82 to 37 early in today’s session. House bill 7085 by Rep. Danny Burgess (R-Zephryhills) is a response to recent Florida Supreme Court rulings which rendered portions of the 2003 reform package unconstitutional. The bill will now head…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On April 19, 2017, the full House passed the comprehensive workers’ compensation reform bill, HB 7085 with a vote of 82-37, mainly along party lines. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. The Senate companion bill, SB 1582, was heard in its last committee on April 19,…
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant The Florida Senate approved 37-0 on April 19 a bill (CS/SB 404), ratifying the 2016 manuals on workers’ compensation reimbursement levels for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. The House must also ratify the allowances if they are to take effect. The Senate-passed legislation will be sent to the House for…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On April 18, 2017, the full House heard the comprehensive workers’ compensation reform bill, HB 7085, for the first time. The bill is a committee bill from the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee and its Committee Chair, Chair Burgess is shepherding the bill through the House. The House…
By: Sam Miller, FIC General Counsel The Senate Governmental Oversight & Accountability Committee April 17 approved 6-0 a bill (CS/SB 1008) providing a public records exemption for identifying information of an injured or deceased worker contained in reports, notices, records, or supporting documentation held by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) pursuant to the workers’…
By: Sam Miller, FIC ConsultantSB 404 Legislative Ratification — by Simmons The Florida Senate is one vote away from ratifying the 2016 manuals on workers’ compensation reimbursement levels for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. It would have to be joined by the House, which has not considered the matter so far. The Senate April 18…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 1088 loosens the requirements for first responders to have compensable mental or nervous injuries. The bill passed its first Senate committee on April 17, 2017 and has three committees left. With that many committees remaining, unless the Senate President removes one or more committee references, it is unlikely…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the Senate workers’ compensation reform package on April 13, 2017. The Committee also adopted a delete everything amendment to the bill that largely made technical changes to the bill. The concepts for comp reform contained in the original version of the bill were…