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Health Care Bills
near their final passage:
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Ben Albritton: Stalemate between House, Senate on tax cuts guarantees Session overtime | 'I'm just not comfortable with a proposal that I believe will likely lead to shortfalls.' | | | |
Overtime: Senate President Ben Albritton said budget leaders in the upper chamber still cannot agree on budget allocations with the House. That guarantees Session will not end on time. “The biggest hurdle at this time is related to tax relief, both the number and the policy,” he said. Until the chambers agree on top lines for spending, appropriators in the chambers cannot meet for budget conferences. The Legislature must complete a budget and allow a three-day cooling period before final passage, which require negotiations to be complete by Tuesday. But even if lawmakers convened through the weekend in budget conferences, it would be impossible to meet that deadline, Albritton made clear. Albritton said the Senate most recently sent an offer with $1.3 billion in recurring tax relief and $1.5 billion in nonrecurring tax cuts, along with local tax relief. But he said Speaker Daniel Perez has held fast to an insistence that lawmakers pass a cut in the state sales tax rate, from 6% to 5.25%.
| | HC Bills that are BOUNCING | |
SSB 110 - Rural Communities
Senator Corey Simon, R Tallahassee
Amends and creates various provisions related to rural development across multiple areas such as economic, infrastructure, education, and healthcare.
To further healthcare access in rural communities, the bill:
• Creates the Stroke, Cardiac, and Obstetric Response and Education (SCORE) Grant Program within the DOH
• Creates the Rural Access to Primary and Preventative Care Grant Program (RAPP-C) program within DOH to provide incentive funding for primary care providers to open new practice locations in rural and underserved areas
• Expands the existing Rural Hospital Capital Improvement Grant Program (RHCI) to allow rural hospitals to use grant funds to establish mobile care units to provide primary care services, behavioral health services, or obstetric and gynecological services in rural HPSAs or to establish telehealth kiosks to provide urgent care services in rural HPSAs.
• Provides that physicians who are board certified or board eligible in emergency medicine and proving care in a rural hospital emergency department are eligible to participate in the FRAME medical student loan repayment program.
READ MORE
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HB 1427 - Health Care
Rep Griff Griffitts, R Panama City
Added to the Senate bill the fallowing issues OF CONCERN:
• Requires physicians to notify patients in writing when referring them to out-of-network physicians and that using such providers may result in higher out-of-pocket patient costs.
• Requires Mandatory electronic prescribing
• Makes the addition of emergency physicians working in rural hospital emergency departments contigent on a specific appropriation.
Current House Budget cuts the Frame Program by $30 million.
The Senate budget funds at current levels.
• Expands the scope of practice for dental hygienists and creates the licensed profession of “dental therapist.”
READ MORE
| House approves Rural Renaissance language, but splits it across 3 bills | Will the Senate accept legislation attaching language focused on agrarian counties to other controversial policies? | | | | |
SB 1288 - Parental Rights
Senator Erin Grall, R
Increases parental consent requirements for minors’ medical treatment and school questionnaires while clarifying exceptions to parental rights and introducing written consent for biofeedback device use.
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OF CONCERN: Requires parental consent for treatment to minors with sexually transmissible diseases, maintaining the ability to examine minors without consent.
READ MORE
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HB 1505 - Parental Rights
Rep Rachel Plakon, R Orlando
Expand parental authority over minors’ healthcare decisions and educational questionnaires. OF CONCERN:
- Require parental consent for minors to receive nonemergency maternal health and contraceptive services, removing the previous “probable health hazards” exception.
- Mandate parental consent for the treatment of sexually transmissible diseases in minors, although minors may still be examined without parental approval.
- Eliminate minors’ ability to access outpatient crisis intervention services without parental consent
READ MORE
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SB 734 - Actions for Recovery of Damages for Wrongful Death
Senator Clay Yarborough, R Jax
READ MORE
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HB 6017 - Recovery of Damages for Medical Negligence Resulting in Death
Rep Dana Trabulsy, R Fort Pierce
READ MORE
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Pending amendment by Senator Harrell adding Medical Malpractice Caps into the bill.
Amends Florida Statutes Section 766.118 concerning limits on noneconomic damages in medical negligence cases.
- Redefines "noneconomic damages" and clarifies limits on damages for practitioner or nonpractitioner negligence.
- Specifies that no single practitioner may be liable for more than $500,000 in noneconomic damages, regardless of the number of practitioners involved.
- Sets caps on noneconomic damages for personal injuries or wrongful death by a single practitioner or nonpractitioner at $500,000 and $750,000 respectively, regardless of the number of responsible parties.
- Retains special provisions for emergency services, capping damages at $150,000 for practitioners and $750,000 for nonpractitioners providing emergency care.
- Retains a $300,000 cap for noneconomic damages in cases involving Medicaid recipients.
READ MORE
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SB 1270 - Department of Health
Senator Jay Collins, R Tampa
READ MORE
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HB 1299 - Department of Health
Rep Taylor Yarkosky, R Clermont
READ MORE
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Pending strike-all amendment by Senator Collins, including fixes to a glitch from the Live Healthy legislation passed last year and ability for Board of Medicine to issue medical licenses.
READ MORE
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Pending amendment by Senator Harrell that focuses on the legal context surrounding vaccination discussions in healthcare settings.
- Allows healthcare providers and facilities to provide educational materials about vaccines without being held liable for any adverse outcomes if a patient refuses vaccination.
- Specifies that healthcare entities can inform patients about the importance of vaccines while protecting those entities from civil or administrative liabilities in cases of vaccine refusal.
READ MORE
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SB 832 - Former Phosphate Mining Lands
Senator Danny Burgess, R Zypherhills
Was amended by House to include language dealing with attorney fees to physicians.
627.4275- Attorney Fees: Amendment reinstates attorney’s fees in actions against an insurer, both over coverage disputes and monetary damages. Unlike the previously repealed 627.428 that provided that if an insured (or the assignee of an insured) had to sue over insurance coverage or monetary damages and prevailed, the insurer would have to pay the insured’s attorney’s fees if they prevailed, 627.4275 would create a “two way street” where whichever side prevails is entitled to attorney’s fees and costs in these disputes. While not as beneficial as the old law, 627.4275 would allow practitioners to recoup the damages that insurers have been unwilling to pay without having to front fees and costs for an attorney or from having an attorney take a portion of the award. This would bring back the ability to recover smaller amounts that, while significant, would often be eclipsed by litigation fees and costs.
Amendment also includes revisions to the "Truth in Damages" section of law, amending what medical charges a jury can consider in deciding cases. amends s. 768.0427, F.S., to clarify which types of evidence are admissible to calculate medical damages in a personal injury or wrongful death action. The amendment allows parties to present certain evidence related to what the plaintiff’s private health insurance would be obligated to pay for past unpaid or future medical damages, the reasonable and customary rates for such rendered or future medical services, and other evidence.
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House OKs chimera bill on tort rules, phosphate disclosure that critics warn will hike insurance rates
| Combining 2 originally unrelated bills 'strains language beyond reason,' said a critic of the process who nevertheless voted for the bill. | | | | PASSED LEGISLATURE and OFF TO GOVERNOR | |
HB 647 - Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Services
Rep Dana Trabulsy, R Fort Pierce
Authorizes advanced practice registered nurses providing hospice care and acting within an established protocol with a licensed physician to file a certificate of death or fetal death and certify the cause of a person’s death.
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EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025
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HB 677 - State Group Insurance Program Coverage of Standard Fertility Preservation Services
Rep Dana Trabulsy, R Fort Pierce
Mandates coverage of medically necessary expenses for fertility retrieval and preservation for policies issued on or after January 1, 2026.
READ MORE
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025
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HB 969 - Reporting of Student Mental Health Outcomes
Rep Hillary Cassel, R Hollywood
Create new requirements for OPPAGA to evaluate school-based mental health services and submit initial and final reports by specified deadlines.
READ MORE
EFFECTIVE DATE: UPON BECOMING LAW
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HB 519 - Administration of Controlled Substances by Paramedics
Rep Robin Bartleman, D Westin
Authorize certified paramedics, under a practitioner’s direction and supervision, to administer controlled substances in emergency settings.
READ MORE
EFFECTIVE DATE: UPON BECOMING LAW
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HB 1353 - Home Health Care Services
Rep Gallop Franklin, D Tallahassee
Removes certain geographic restrictions on home health agency administration, allows contract staff to perform key nursing visits, and revises criteria for the Excellence in Home Health Program.
READ MORE
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HB 547 - Medical Debt
Rep Bill Partington, R Ormond
Broaden the definition of extraordinary collection actions and allow facilities to sell certain medical debt under strict conditions.
READ MORE
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HB 1487 - Emergency Services
Rep Fabian Basabe, R Miami
Remove the limit on the number of red and white warning signals that certain vehicles may display and revise requirements for volunteer ambulance services, including expanded exemptions and funding restrictions.
READ MORE
| | Expected to PASS this Week | | Improving Screening for and Treatment of Blood Clots | | | | |
HB 1421
Rep Dean Black, R Jacksonville
READ MORE
The bill creates the Emily Adkins Family Protection Act to improve screening and treatment measures for, and prevention of venous thromboembolism in Florida residents.
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SB 1768
Senator Jay Trumbull, R Panama City
READ MORE
Establishes standards for non-FDA-approved stem cell therapies to ensure ethical sourcing, patient protections, and compliance with regulatory requirements.
| | | Mental Health & Substance Use Disorders | | | | |
SB 1620
Senator Daryl Rouson, R St Pete
READ MORE
The bills implement several recommendations made by the Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder in its January 1, 2025, annual report.
| | | Pediatric Readiness in Hospital Emergency Departments | |
SB 1602
Senator Gayle Harrell, R Stuart
READ MORE
Requires each hospital with an emergency department (ED) to develop and implement policies and procedures for pediatric patient care in the ED.
Additionally, each such hospital ED must designate a pediatric emergency care coordinator and conduct the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment (NPRA) within a certain time frame.
Requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to incorporate the needs of pediatric and neonatal patients in rules requiring an emergency management plan, to adopt rules that establish minimum standards for pediatric patient care in hospital EDs, and to collect the results of the NPRA and publish the overall assessment score for each hospital ED and provide a comparison to the national average score.
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SB 248 - Student Participation in Interscholastic and Intrascholastic Extracurricular Sports
Senator Corey Simon, R Tallahassee
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HB 1607 - Cardiac Emergencies
Rep Taylor Yarkosky, R Clermont
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SB 1514 - Anaphylaxis in Public and Charter Schools
Senator Carlos Smith, D Orlando
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HB 711 - Spectrum Alert
Rep David Borrero, R Miami
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HB 1567 - Insulin Administration by Direct Support Professionals & Relatives
Rep Kaylee Tuck, R Sebring
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HB 1545 - Parkinson's Disease
Rep Demi Busatta, R Miami
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SB 1156 - Home Health Aide for Medically Fragile Children Program
Senator Gayle Harrell, R Stuart
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HB 797 - Veteran and Spouse Nursing Home Beds
Rep Chip LaMarca, R Light House Point
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SB 1240 - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Care
Senator Alexis Calatayud, R Miami
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SB 1490 - Children’s Medical Services Program
Senator Gayle Harrell, R Stuart
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Hope Florida probe ends in no-shows. The work is just beginning, Chair says | 'In the real world, if someone defrauded the state or a charity out of $10 million, someone would go to prison,' Rep. Alex Andrade said. | | | |
House delays vote on hemp regulations until last week of Session | Bill sponsor Michelle Salzman: 'We just pushed it due to timing.' | | | |
Jason Pizzo switches to NPA, resigns as Democratic Leader, declares 'Democratic Party in Florida is dead' | 'Stripping myself of a title and party designation allows me to run free and clear, clean and transparent.' | | | | HOUSE limited to Senate Messages | | After Day 55 (Sunday, April 27), House Special Orders only need to be published in one calendar, and no House bills on second reading may be taken up and considered by the House via a floor motion. | | |
May 2
END of the 2025 Legislative Session
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