 | | The full House gave the green light to four separate health care proposals on Wednesday, sending the bills to the Senate. One proposal (HB 363), by GOP Rep. Linda Chaney, would allow dental therapists to perform preventive and routine restorative care—including fillings, temporary crowns and certain tooth extractions—under agreements with supervising dentists. “This bill will help fill the gap in a lack of about 1,300 dentists in the state of Florida,” Chaney said. “Sixty-six of our 67 counties are federally designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas, that’s 5.9 million Floridians living in these 274 HPSAs.” While supporters emphasized that dental therapists would be trained and regulated, and would help underserved and rural communities, opponents warned that the legislation could affect the quality of dental care. “We need to be honest about who would receive this second-tier of care,” argued Fort Lauderdale Democrat Rep. Daryl Campbell during debate. “It will not be the wealthy, it will be low-income Floridians, seniors, and children—the very people with the highest medical risk will be the ones treated by providers with less training.” The proposal passed on an 80-29 vote, sending it to the Senate, where no companion measure was filed. Two other bills that cleared the full House would expand the scope of practice for certain psychiatric nurses and certified registered nurse anesthetists, or CRNAs. The first proposal (HB 301) would add psychiatric nurses to those authorized to practice autonomously and establish their own practices, provided they meet specific requirements. Currently, only advanced practice registered nurses, or APRNs, are permitted to practice independently, or without physician supervision, within primary care, family medicine, general pediatrics, and general internal medicine under certain circumstances in Florida. The other bill (HB 375) would allow CRNAs to practice autonomously, removing a requirement for written supervisory agreements with physicians at hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. While the measures have Senate companions, SB 138 and SB 462, respectively, neither Senate version has been heard in committee. The House psych nurse bill passed on an 88-18 vote, and the CRNA proposal advanced on a 78-28 vote. The only health care bill to receive unanimous support Wednesday on the House floor was HB 237 dealing with nursing titles, despite the issue becoming controversial in previous years. The legislation would tighten rules around who can use certain professional titles by restricting the use of Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) titles to those holding a Florida or multistate nursing license. It would also require any doctoral degree holder using the title “doctor” to clearly indicate their profession. The proposal heads to the upper chamber, where an identical Senate companion (SB 36) is also moving through the committee process.
On the fiscal side, The Florida Senate announced that it will delay releasing its proposed 2026–2027 budget by a week to stay aligned with the House’s schedule, with committees set to begin reviewing portions of the plan on Feb. 12 and the full Appropriations Committee expected to consider the bill on Feb. 18. Lawmakers aim to avoid the prolonged overtime sessions seen last year, with leadership emphasizing ongoing communication between the chambers.
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