By Jose David Suarez, MD
The Florida Legislative Session ended on March 14th. From my point of view the results for physicians were positive, even though there is a lot of work to do. The DCMA would like to recognize the leadership of the Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation for delivering several bills that will have a beneficial impact on our members.
Your DCMA was heavily involved in advocating for our legislative agenda this session. Through different initiatives and events, we were able to engage our elected officials on issues of importance to our members. The end result of our efforts is that a good number of our priorities moved through the process and have either become law or are awaiting the Governor’s signature.
The following are our priority issues that passed this legislative session:
SB 7014 – COVID-19-related Claims Against Health Care Providers – SB 7014 extends the length of time that health care providers receive certain liability protections from COVID-19-related claims. The net result of the bill is to extend the liability protections for about 14 months, from March 29, 2022, to June 1, 2023.
Loan Forgiveness for Physicians Practicing in Areas of Critical Need – While the Legislature pursues mechanisms to ensure access to care in underserved areas, the state already had the statutory framework to provide loan forgiveness for physicians who serve in those communities. The Legislature provided $10 million in the budget this year to provide loan forgiveness for physicians, nurses, and dentists practicing in underserved communities.
HB 817 – Emergency Medical Care and Treatment to Minors Without Parental Consent – The bill authorizes physicians licensed under chapters 458 or 459, F.S., to provide emergency medical care or treatment to a minor without parental consent. This allows physicians to provide such care in prehospital settings, similar to EMTs and paramedics, or in hospital settings.
SB 312 – Telehealth – Allows a telehealth provider to issue a renewal prescription for a controlled substance listed in Schedule III, IV, or V of s. 893.03, F.S., through telehealth, within the scope of his or her practice, and in accordance with other state and federal laws.
HB 459 – Step-therapy Protocols – The bill defines “step therapy protocol” as a protocol or program that establishes the specific sequence in which prescription drugs, medical procedures, or courses of treatment must be used to treat a health condition. The bill requires an insurer or HMO to publish on its website, and provide to an insured in writing, a procedure for an insured patient and health care provider to request a protocol exemption.
The DCMA also helped discourage the consideration of bills such as wrongful death expansions and scope of practice bills that could be harmful to patients and physicians.
While this is a summary of our priority bills, there were a number of other health care bills that passed this session. I invite our members to go to our website (www.miamimed) to find more information about our performance during the 2022 Legislative Session.
One way we all can continue to advocate for the profession is by joining the Dade County Medical Association and the Dade County Medical Association-PAC. This is your seat at the table as we address those issues that impact the patient/physician relationship. We must work together as a critical mass of professionals concerned with healthcare services in Miami-Dade County.
Dr. Jose David Suarez is President, Dade County Medical Association, Inc.
