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END-OF-SESSION SUMMARY
by Timothy J. Meenan, FAIFA Lobbyist
The 2007 Regular Session of the Florida Legislature adjourned
“sine die” Friday afternoon, May 4th, following
passage of a $72-plus billion budget that allocates 114,757 state
employee positions—of which $5,076,862,159 and 19,552
positions were allocated to the Department of Financial Services
(DFS) for oversight of the insurance, banking, and investment
industries from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
The budget was sent to the Governor on May 9. However,
legislators are already scheduled to come back to Tallahassee for
Special Session B on property taxes from June 12 through June 22
(Special Session A, on property insurance, was held in January).
Though insurance issues were not included in the proclamation
calling the Legislature into Special Session B, there is always a
chance that a Senator or Representative may request that an issue
“outside the call” be taken up—FAIFA will be
monitoring and ready for any insurance-related issues if any are
considered.
Here is a recap and wrap-up of what ultimately happened regarding
the bills and amendments we worked on during the 2007 Regular
Session—those that passed and will become law, unless
vetoed by the Governor, and those that “died.”
FAIFA WINS THE BATTLE AND STOPS NON-AGENT EFFORTS TO OBTAIN
BROKER-LIKE EXEMPTION FROM AGENT LICENSURE
During the last couple of weeks of this year’s Regular
Session, an issue emerged that will probably threaten agent
interests for some time to come. FAIFA won the battle, and
stopped an effort to amend the Florida Insurance Code to
authorize a broker-like exemption for so-called
“unaffiliated insurance consultants.”
Representatives of a group of non-agents circulated a draft
amendment providing for DFS to recognize and register so-called
“unaffiliated insurance consultants.” As proposed,
“unaffiliated insurance consultants” could advise
consumers regarding purchase of insurance products. FAIFA stood
up against this very bad idea.
These consultants would be allowed to approach group health
accounts or property insurance clients to discuss the
clients’ current insurance coverage. The consultant would
not be required to maintain a life and health agent’s
license, and would not require appointment by any insurer.
As defined in the draft amendment, an “unaffiliated
insurance consultant” means a person who is not affiliated
with any insurer and chooses to practice as an independent
insurance consultant providing “objective” advice to
the buyers of insurance and who meet other specified criteria.
Non-agents allowed to perform these functions would include the
following:
• A person with an academic degree from an accredited
college or university in risk management or insurance;
• A person who has taught a course in risk management or
insurance as a professor at an accredited college or university;
• An attorney who is a member of the Florida Bar
• Persons meeting criteria that the Department of Financial
Services (Department or DFS) would be authorized to create as it
“deems proper.”
In addition to the non-agents, insurance agents could also act as
unaffiliated insurance consultants, and would not require
appointment. In order for an agent to qualify as an unaffiliated
insurance consultant, the amendment language required that a
general lines agent must have a CPCU, ARM, or CIC designation, a
life or health agent must have a CLU or CEBS designation, and all
such agents must have been licensed for a minimum of 2 years.
I expect to see this issue again, next year.
PIP STANDS REPEALED --FOR NOW — EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1
View the bill at: http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2007/Senate/bills/billtext/pdf/s1880e1.pdf
by the Senate Committee on General Government Appropriations, the
Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance, and Senator Posey
Having failed to pass legislation that would re-enact or modify
Florida’s current personal injury protection
(“PIP/No-Fault”) insurance system, the Florida
Legislature has left repeal of PIP to take effect October 1, 2007
— this repeal date was established back in 2003. However,
it is reasonable to expect some interested parties may succeed in
convincing the Governor or the Legislature that a Special Session
is needed to address this issue before the repeal takes effect
later this year.
The repeal would take effect by eliminating PIP as a mandatory
coverage. According to the Senate bill report for Committee
Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1880,
“Insurers are authorized to provide, in all policies issued
or renewed after October 1, 2006, that such policies may
terminate on or after October 1, 2007.”
There was a proposal in the House of Representatives that
addressed this issue, but it never reached the House Floor. The
Senate bill died on the House Calendar. FAIFA supports repeal of
PIP/No-Fault insurance, and replacing it with mandatory medical
pay or mandatory bodily injury coverage. There is a lengthy
history of widespread fraud throughout the current PIP/No-Fault
system, and repeal would eliminate much of it.
The Senate made an effort to “modify” PIP/No-Fault in
Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill
1880. This bill provided for reenacting Florida’s Motor
Vehicle No-Fault Law, established several time lines and reporting
and data collection requirements relating to enforcement of the
PIP/No-Fault law, but also provided for future repeal of the Law
on January 1, 2012.
As provided in the bill, prior to the 2012 repeal, DFS/OIR would
have been required to lead a comprehensive review (in
consultation with various industry, health care provider, and
plaintiff’s attorney representatives) of PIP/No-Fault and
its effect on insurance rates, auto insurance policyholders,
health care providers, and the trial court system. To allow time
to digest the review findings before the repeal of PIP/No-Fault
in 2012, the bill called for DFS/OIR to submit a report
summarizing the review and stating its findings by October 1,
2010, to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of
the House of Representatives.
The House was pushing a plan to repeal PIP, and replace it with a
form of medical payments insurance covering largely only
inpatient costs. FAIFA favored the original House plan over the
Senate plan, as it prevented the shifting of hundreds of millions
of dollars in legitimate health care claims to health insurers.
FAIFA fears that health insurers will soon be requesting
significant rate increases to finance the cost of auto accidents.
We urge the Legislature to consider enacting either a mandatory
bodily injury or a mandatory inpatient medical payments auto
insurance solution during Special Session.
AGENT IN CHARGE OF MULTIPLE BRANCH OFFICES AND INSURANCE AGENT
PRE-LICENSING EDUCATION COURSES
View the bill at:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h1381er.doc&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=1381&Session=2007
by the House Policy & Budget Council, the House Jobs &
Entrepreneurship Council, and Representative Richter
Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for House Bill 1381
passed. This bill authorizes a licensed insurance agent in charge
of an insurance agency to be the agent in charge of one or more
branch insurance locations, so long as an unlicensed person does
not conduct the business of insurance when the agent in charge is
not present.
FAIFA successfully amended the bill to ensure that any insurance
agent in charge could manage more than one branch location. As
originally proposed, the bill only allowed one agent in charge to
be named for multiple locations of banks and financial
institutions. FAIFA drafted and worked aggressively to get this
language adopted. That amendment protects member interests by
providing that a licensed insurance agent in charge of an
insurance agency that is not affiliated with a financial
institution, securities dealer, or funeral establishment may also
be the agent in charge of multiple branch insurance locations.
Agencies with multiple locations will still need to get each of
them licensed as a branch agency, but will no longer need to
maintain a full time agent at those locations. No unlicensed
individual may conduct activities that require a license when the
agent in charge is not present. The amendment “levels the
playing field” regarding branch insurance office activities
relative to agent activities to ensure that we have the same
exemption as banks, brokers, and funeral homes for our branch
offices.
Under current law, effective October 1, 2006, insurance agencies
that act in their own name or under a trade name as an insurance
agency must obtain an insurance agency license for each place of
business at which activity occurs that can only be performed by a
licensed insurance agent. The current law provides that each
insurance agency branch location must be in the full-time charge
of a licensed general lines agent or life or health agent who is
appointed to represent one or more insurers. Any entity that has
established one or more branch places of business must have at
least one licensed general lines agent who is appointed to
represent one or more insurers at each agency location, including
the headquarters, but the agent in charge cannot be in charge of
more than one location. So this legislation will now allow a
single agent to maintain another location, as long as
insurance-agent activities do not occur at the off-site location
when the agent is not present.
In a separate matter, the bill allows DFS to approve
correspondence courses offered by independent programs of study
as satisfying the pre-licensing education requirements for
obtaining a life or health insurance agent license.
FAIFA STOPS AMENDMENT WATERING DOWN PRE-LICENSING AND
CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
Language was quietly added to SB 1866, in the final week of
session, designed to make online course providers more prevalent
in the CE and pre licensing education arena. The language was not
clear but appear to be aimed a allowing open book exams for
pre-licensing education courses. Worse, as written, the language
appeared to grant the Department of Financial Services the
authority to require that exams be required on all continuing
education courses; such courses attended in person by agents need
not be completed with an exam under current law.
FAIFA worked to assure that language was stripped off the final
homeowners bill which was enacted late on the last day of
session.
TRAVEL PROTECTION INSURANCE
View the bill at:
http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2007/House/bills/billtext/pdf/h041103er.pdf
by the House Jobs and Entrepreneurship Council and Representative
Precourt
Committee Substitute for House Bill 411 authorizes a limited
license for travel agencies and certain timeshare rental
companies and their employees to sell or offer travel protection
insurance, creates a new limited license to transact travel
protection insurance business and combines it with the limited
license for personal accident insurance, which would enable a
license holder to transact both types of coverage. Travel
protection insurance would cover losses such as accidental death
and dismemberment; travel cancellations, interruptions, or
delays; and emergency health-related expenses incurred while
traveling.
FAIFA successfully fought to have language amended into the bill
that limits the time frame for travel protection insurance
products to 60-day coverage. This was done to ensure this
legislation would not allow an unlicensed person to compete in
the marketplace with licensed agents in selling annual and
permanent insurance providing similar coverage. In addition to
replacing the personal accident insurance limited license with
the travel protection insurance limited license, the bill replaces
the baggage and motor vehicle excess liability limited insurance
license with the motor vehicle rental insurance license.
FAIFA’s goal is to assure no limited licensee will be
authorized to directly and unfairly compete with our members.
MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT POLICIES
View the bill at:
http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2007/House/bills/billtext/pdf/h009703er.pdf
by the House Healthcare Council and Representative Hays
Committee Substitute for House Bill 97 reduces Florida’s
OIR regulation of Medicare supplement policies offered by
employers, employer groups, or trustees acting on behalf of
employers or labor organizations covering at least 50 employees
when issued and only if, upon termination of eligibility, group
members age 65 or older are offered continuation of coverage
under the group plan or a conversion policy with the same
benefits as a Medicare supplement policy.
“Medicare supplement policy” is currently defined in
s. 627.672, Florida Statutes, to mean: "a health insurance
policy or other health benefit plan offered by a private entity
to individuals who are entitled to have payments for health care
costs made under Medicare, Title XVIII of the Social Security Act
(‘Medicare’), as presently constituted and as may
later be amended, which provides reimbursement for expenses
incurred for services and items for which payment may be made
under Medicare but which expenses are not reimbursable by reason
of the applicability of deductibles, coinsurance amounts, or
other limitations imposed by Medicare.”
As originally introduced, the bill was much broader in
scope—it would have excluded Medicare supplement policies
offered by any employer, group of employers, or trustees
representing employers to its employees or former employees.
FAIFA supported the inclusion of a minimum size requirement for
employer groups to qualify for reduced regulation of maintaining
at least 50 employees in Florida. Such policies still will be
subject to federal regulation. FAIFA supported narrowing the
scope of this change in law, and still has concerns about its
effect on Florida residents. We will watch developments as this
change is implemented effective July 1, 2007, if signed into law
by Governor Crist. It is possible that the OIR will ask the
Governor to veto this legislation.
IMMUNIZATION SERVICES
View the bill at: http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2007/House/bills/billtext/pdf/h054303er.pdf
by Representative Juan Zapata
This bill creates the “Pharmacist Kevin Coit Memorial
Act.” It authorizes pharmacists to administer influenza
virus immunizations to adults and requires that pharmacists
authorized to administer influenza virus immunizations provide
evidence of current certification by the Pharmacy Board,
established under the Department of Health, to the supervising
physician.
INSURANCE AGENT ACCESS TO SCHOOL GROUNDS
View the bill at: http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2007/Senate/bills/billtext/pdf/s0988er.pdf
by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and Senator Argenziano
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 988, relating to high-risk
offenders, requires that a fingerprint-based background screening
be performed of non-instructional contractors who: (1) are
permitted access to school grounds when students are present; (2)
are not anticipated to have direct contact with students in
performing their contract; and (3) would have only unanticipated
contact with students that is infrequent and incidental.
The bill requires state and federal criminal history checks to be
performed at least every five years. The bill requires a
non-instructional contractor subject to this section to inform a
school district that he or she has had a criminal history check
in another school district within the last five years. A
contractor who has been convicted of a disqualifying offense (any
offense that would require registration as a sex offender,
murder, terrorism, kidnapping, among others) is prohibited from
being on school grounds when students are present, unless he or
she has received a full pardon or had civil rights restored.
Violation of this prohibition is a third degree felony.
Non-instructional contractors—a vendor, individual, or
entity, including employees and subcontractors of a vendor,
individual, or entity, under contract with a school or school
board who is compensated for services performed for the school or
district, but who is not considered to be an employee—may
be exempt from fingerprint-based background checks when under
direct “line-of-sight” supervision of a person
meeting screening requirements, working in an area of the campus
separate from the student population, or meets other specified
conditions. However, exempted non-instructional contractors will
be subject to a search of the state and national registry of
sexual predators and sexual offenders without charge to the
contractor. The school district must notify the contracted
vendor, individual, or entity of an adverse determination within
three business days. A contractor may not be subjected to
additional criminal history checks by the school district.
CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION (CPIC)
View the bill at:
http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2007/Senate/bills/billtext/pdf/s2498er.pdf
by the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and Senators Garcia
and Posey
Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 2498 makes changes to the
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (“Citizens”)
law by adopting measures designed to make Citizens more
competitive with the voluntary market as a short-term approach to
providing Florida residents with a readily available source of
“affordable property insurance.” It also addresses
some of the issues that the Governor and Legislature considered
inadequately addressed during January’s Special Session on
property insurance.
In reality, it further cements Citizens role as a competitor to
private insurers, and will likely contribute to the
market’s shift from private insurers to
government-sponsored insurance.
This bill includes provisions which will impact the supply side
of Florida’s property insurance market. The Legislature, in
this bill, prohibits the formation of new Florida-only domestic
residential property insurance subsidiaries (“pup”
companies) by national insurers, and requires rate filings for
all insurance subsidiaries to include parent company profit
information. The idea seems to be to eliminate the ability of a
national company to isolate its Florida property-related losses
and to force these companies, instead, to calculate such losses
with all others in their respective books of nationwide business.
The bill also freezes Citizens rates for an additional year,
artificially suppressing their rates until January 2009.
Other features in the bill include: (1) giving priority, under
the Insurance Capital Build-Up Incentive Program for surplus notes,
to insurers writing the highest percentage of residential
property insurance covering manufactured housing—insurers
writing coverage for only manufactured housing may receive
surplus notes of up to $7 million; (2) changing the definition of
“diligent effort,” as relates to surplus lines
insurance coverage of $1 million or more, to mean seeking
coverage from and having been rejected by at least one authorized
insurer (down from 3 rejections) currently writing admitted
coverage and documenting this rejection for residential
structures having a dwelling replacement cost of $1 million or
more—coverage of insurable interests valued at less than $1
million is still subject to the “3 rejections” rule;
(3) requiring retail or producing agents selling surplus lines
insurance covering personal residential property risks to notify
their customers, in writing, that coverage may be available and
may be less expensive from Citizens and to provide notices that
Citizens assessments may be higher and that Citizens coverage may
be less than the property’s existing coverage—the
insured’s signature on the notice creates a presumption he
or she was informed and understands; (4) providing a longer
phase-out period for ending Citizens coverage of certain properties
with a combined dwelling and content replacement cost valued at
$1 million or more by moving out to January 1, 2009, rather than
July 1, 2008, the date after which Citizens will cease to cover
personal lines residential structures that were insured by
Citizens on December 31, 2008, rather than June 30, 2008; (5)
creating the Florida State University Catastrophic Storm Risk
Management Center to promote and disseminate research on issues
related to catastrophic storm loss and to assist in identifying
and developing education and research grant funding opportunities
among higher education institutions Florida and the private
sector; (6) requiring, effective August 1, 2007, that notice
premium renewals for residential property insurance policies
specify the dollar amount recouped for assessments for the
Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund for Citizens, the Florida
Insurance Guaranty Association listing each entity by its dollar
amount, and the dollar amount of any premium due to an approved
rate increase and the total dollar amount that is due to coverage
changes; (7) effective December 31, 2008, prohibiting issuance of
a new Certificate of Authority for residential property insurance
to an insurer domiciled in Florida that is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of an insurer authorized to do business in any other
state, and requires that the rate filings of such subsidiaries
include information relating to the profits of the parent
company; and (8) creating the 19-member “Citizens Property
Insurance Corporation Mission Review Task Force” to
determine the steps that must be taken to return Citizens to is
original mission and eventually move it out of competition with
the voluntary market.
SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS: INVESTMENT ADVISOR FEE INCREASES
View the bill at:
http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2007/Senate/bills/billtext/pdf/s1100er.pdf
by the Senate General Government Appropriations Committee and
Senator Alexander
The final version of Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1100
leaves unchanged, at $200, the registration, renewal, and late
fees of dealer and investment adviser firms. Throughout the
Session language in the bill had provided for increasing each of
these fees an additional $50—to $250. However, the bill
does increase the registration, renewal, and late fees of
associated persons from $40 to $50—this is down from $70.
The enacted fee increase generates substantially less than the
original $12.9 million in revenue that would have been raised had
the earlier proposed increases been enacted. Also, the bill
provides for the distribution of securities transaction fees to
the General Revenue Fund and the Regulatory Trust Fund in the
Office of Financial Regulation.
DEBT WAIVER/CREDIT LIFE INSURANCE
View the bill at:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h7087er.doc&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=7087&Session=2007
by the House Jobs and Entrepreneurship Council and Representative
Carroll
House Bill 7087 amends Florida’s Retail Installment Sales
law, the Florida Insurance Code, and the Financial Institutions
Code. It defines “guaranteed asset protection
product” (GAP product) and provides requirements and
prohibitions relating to these products in connection with retail
installment sales contracts. It also defines “debt
cancellation product” as relates to Florida’s retail
installment contract law, the Insurance Code, and the Financial
Institutions Code—the definitions are similar, not
identical, as provided in the bill for each of these areas of
law.
Also, the bill removes the $50,000 cap on and duration of credit
life insurance that may be purchased. This is a limit on the
maximum amount a creditor or its parent holding company may
insure the life of a customer who obtains an installment loan
offered by financial institutions. The bill further provides that
the total amount of credit life insurance on the life of any
debtor with respect to any loan or loans covered in one or more
insurance policy shall at no time exceed the amount of the
indebtedness. The legislation was enacted during the 2006 Regular
Session, but was vetoed by Governor Bush for other reasons.
KIDCARE PROGRAM REMAINS UNCHANGED
View the bill at:
http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2007/Senate/bills/billtext/pdf/s0930c3.pdf
by the Senate Health and Human Services
Appropriations Committee, the Senate Governmental Operations
Committee, the Senate Health Policy Committee, and Senator Dawson
et al.
After devoting substantial committee deliberation to Committee
Substitute (CS) for CS for CS for Senate Bill 930, the Senate did
not change Florida’s KidCare Program. The bill did not
reach the Senate Floor for final debate and it died pending a
review.
The bill proposed to require that the Department of Health (DOH),
in consultation with Agency for Health Care Administration
(AHCA), develop a minimum set of pediatric quality assurance and access
standards for children’s health care and medical
assistance.
Furthermore, it designated AHCA as the single state agency for
the Program and transferred and consolidated most administrative
functions in the entire Florida Kidcare program under AHCA—this
would have taken effect no later than July 1, 2008. Additionally,
the bill clarified that parents and legal guardians could have
access to enrollment information and provided that current
capitation rate methodologies used in Medicaid would apply to managed
care plans participating in the KidCare Program, effective July
1, 2008.
The bill eliminated the current coordinating council chaired by
DOH, and repealed the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation effective
June 30, 2009. It directed AHCA to provide a consolidation
transition plan to the Governor, Senate President, and Speaker of
the House of Representatives by January 1, 2008. All other
legislation impacting the Program—CS/SB 1740, HB 1173, and
HB 7189—also failed to pass out of their respective chambers.
There is some possibility that this issue may be the subject of a
Special Session before next year’s Regular Session.
HEALTH INSURANCE ID CARD
View the bill at:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=34477&
by the House Jobs & Entrepreneurship Council and
Representative Cretul
The health insurance identification card legislation, Committee
Substitute for House Bill 177 and Committee Substitute for Senate
Bill 2094, did not pass. These bills required health insurance
companies and HMOs to provide identification cards to their
policyholders and subscribers for the purpose of creating a
uniform set of information relating to each policy or contract.
Insurers and HMOs are not currently required to provide insurance
identification cards to their policyholders and subscribers, but
many choose to do so. The bill required that health ID cards
contain specified information that can be used to confirm the
insured individual’s identity, identify the type of plan,
obtain authorization for services, and indicate the financial
responsibility of the policyholder or subscriber.
FREE INSURANCE
View the bill at:
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h1473c1.doc&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=1473&Session=2007
by Representative Don Brown
http://www.flsenate.gov/data/session/2007/Senate/bills/billtext/pdf/s1754c1.pdf
by Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and Senator Posey
Neither Committee Substitute for House Bill 1473 nor Committee
Substitute for Senate Bill 1754, providing for a new exception to
Florida’s prohibition against offering free insurance on
cell phones and other wireless equipment, passed.
Florida law, as a general policy, prohibits free insurance as it
is considered an inducement to the purchase or sale of real or
personal property or of services directly or indirectly connected
with such real or personal property, and it is never
“free.” The bills provided for amending the Insurance
Code’s Unfair Methods of Competition and Unfair or
Deceptive Acts or Practices law to add language that creates a
new exception to the state’s ban on free insurance; current
law already provides seven exceptions.
Although, standing alone, this bill did not directly threaten
FAIFA members, FAIFA opposes all free insurance exemptions, as
free insurance removes the agent from the
transaction—leaving such transaction to store staff, and
because it is never really “free,” instead the price
is hidden in some other good or service.
MANDATES UPDATE
FAIFA fought off numerous mandate bills considered this year, but
many made it further through the process than in previous years.
While we do have compassion for persons suffering with the
diseases that these bills address, FAIFA strongly opposes
mandates because of the devastating cost increases that they
would create.
Cost increases associated with mandated benefits have a very high
correlation with decreased coverage overall, as purchasers decide
that they cannot pay the increased incremental costs, and do not
have the option to decline the coverage since it is mandated by
the State as a condition of doing business. Further, mandated
benefits do not apply to self-insured programs under ERISA,
forcing regulated, voluntary insurance costs to increase in
relation to ERISA.
I have identified only one mandate bill passed during the 2007
Session, Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 590 – HMO
Contract/Subscriber’s Rights, by Senator Burt Saunders.
This bill requires HMOs to notify, in writing, new subscribers,
who are residents of continuing care facilities or retirement
communities, of their right to request referral to a skilled
nursing unit or assisted living facility affiliated with the
continuing care facility or retirement community in which they
reside. The bill also requires HMOs to disclose to such
subscriber's that if their request to be referred to a skilled
nursing unit or assisted living facility that is part of their
place of residence is denied, the subscriber may use a grievance
process specifically designed to address such requests and denials
to challenge the HMOs decision.
Note that the last bill referenced below, HB 291, would have
mandated every health insurance policy provide equal coverage
limits for mental health and psychological disorders as is
provided for physical health issues. This bill would
substantially increase the cost of health insurance, and would
likely create an exodus of health insurers from our state.
Following are mandate bills that were not enacted:
--- Senate Bill 516 by Senate Geller—Autism Spectrum
Disorder
--- Senate Bill 1172 by Senator Joyner and House Bill 669 by Rep.
Meadows—Lymph Node Dissections
--- CS for Senate Bill 110 by Senator Hill and CS for House Bill
345 by the Jobs and Entrepreneurship Council and Rep.
Peterman—Prostate Cancer annual screening
--- Senate Bill 274 by Senate Margolis and House Bill 1105 by
Rep. Patronis—Cystic Fibrosis Treatment
--- House Bill 849 by Representative R. Garcia and Senate Bill
1836 by Senator Jones—
Anti-Seizure, Anti-Epileptic Non-generic Drugs
--- CS for Senate Bill 366 by Senate Banking and Insurance and
Senator Wilson and House Bill 833 by Rep. R. Garcia—Infant
Eye Care
--- Senate Bill 910, by Senator Siplin—“Universal
Health Access Plan for Children” would have established a
single, publicly-funded statewide program, administered by the
Department of Health, to provide medically necessary health
services for each child in Florida without cost to the
child’s family.
--- Senate Bill 238, by Senator Lynn—Mandatory Coverage of
Dependent Children under Group, Blanket, or Franchise Health
Insurance Policies
--- House Bill 291 by the Healthcare Council and Representative
Homan and CS for SB 1834 by the Senate Banking and Insurance
Committee and Senator Jones—Mental Health Parity
OTHER 2007 LEGISLATION OF INTEREST THAT DID NOT PASS
--- Senate Bill 298 by Senator Fasano and House Bill 925 by
Representative Hukill would establish a pilot program to provide
rebates to small businesses that provide comprehensive major
medical health insurance coverage to employees. The bill died in
the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee without a hearing.
--- House Bill 519 by Representative Nelson (no Senate
companion), would authorize insurance policies for small
employers offering coverage to their employees that contain no mandated
coverages. The bill would apply to any business that has not
provided its employees with group health insurance for at least 1
year, and would allow such a business to provide group health
insurance without the statutory required mandated coverages for
up to 3 years. At the end of the 3-year period, the business must
then convert the group health insurance policy to one that
provides all of the statutorily mandated coverages or discontinue
providing group coverage. The bill died in the House Innovation
Committee without a hearing.
--- House Bill 1401 by Representative Patronis, relating to small
business health flex plans, the bill expands health flex plan
eligibility from 200 to 250 percent of the federal poverty level,
which is $20,650 for a family of four. It also provides health
flex plans with access to the employee group market, in certain
circumstances, and allows certain licensed health care entities;
local governments and health care districts to be deemed in
compliance with the financial requirements to offer health flex
plans, thereby expediting the Office of Insurance
Regulation’s application process for those entities. The
bill died in Senate Messages awaiting Senate consideration.
--- Senate Bill 1422 by Senator Carlton, providing for employee
health savings accounts. The bill died in Conference Committee.
--- Senate Bill 1756 by Senator Posey, relating to health care
provider patient fees, requires that health care providers charge
certain uninsured patients the lowest fee for service that would
be accepted if all or portion of payment were made by insurer.
The bill died in the Senate Health Regulation Committee without a
hearing.
--- Senate Bill 2222 by Senator Posey (no House companion),
relating to health insurance policies, provides policyholders
with right to designate at least one secondary addressee to
receive notice of cancellation or nonrenewal for nonpayment of
premium, and requires insurers to notify policyholder of his or
her at least once every 2 years of right to make such a
designation. The bill died on the Senate Calendar.
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