Legislative Week in Review P.O. Box Tallahassee, FL TEL: Fax:

Transcription

1 Florida Insurance Council March 19, 2010 Legislative Week in Review P.O. Box Tallahassee, FL TEL: Fax: Third Week to End with Unusual Saturday Session The 2010 Legislative Session continues to move along at an unusually slow pace, with relatively few bills moving as the third week comes to a close. Noting the slow pace, Senator J.D. Alexander, Chairman of the Senate Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means has scheduled a rare Saturday meeting of his committee. He noted earlier this week that he is disappointed at the slow pace and hinted he would hold a weekend session which is now scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday morning. His committee is scheduled to hear several bills including a pair of linked bills that propose an amendment to the State Constitution relating to the duties of the Chief Financial Officer. The bills, SB 2204 and 2206 are sponsored by Sen. Alexander, R Lake Wales. His bills were on the agenda for Monday s meeting but were not considered. Property Insurance Cat Fund Bill Finally Expected to Move The Cat Fund bill fast-tracked out of House and Senate committees the first week of session and passed by the full Senate a day later has ever since sat idle. The House has been waiting for the Senate to deliver the bill before moving the House version to the floor. Early this week the Senate finally sent over its bill. Procedurely, the House can now take up the bill and send it to Gov. Crist. We anticipate this to happen this week. However, we await release of next week s House Calendar to determine further timing regarding this important bill which retains the current contract year for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (Cat Fund). Public Adjuster Bill Awaiting movement in the House is a bill placing restrictions on public adjusters. A Compromise Public Adjuster Bill Won Senate Committee Approval Thursday, but its

2 companion, HB 1181 by Rep. Janet Long, R St. Petersburg has not been heard in committee as of yet. The bill has been referred to the House Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs Committee which is scheduled to meet next Thursday. The Senate Banking & Insurance Committee Wednesday approved the Senate version a compromise that Sen. Michael Bennett, R Bradenton, its sponsor, said he worked out with all sides. The Senate version has another committee stop before reaching the Senate floor. Sen. Bennett indicated that he will continue to tweak his bill, but commented in committee that that all parties worked like mature adults to reach a general consensus on the issues laid out in the bill. Auto Insurance Anti-Fraud Bill Awaits Action FIC lobbyists Leonard Schulte is working to get the fraud bill, HB 1447, placed on the agenda for next week s House Insurance Committee meeting. The agenda is not set as yet and by rule must be set no later than 48 hours prior to the meeting. The committee is scheduled to meet Thursday at 1:00 p.m. which means the agenda may not be set until early Tuesday. Leonard has worked closely with Rep. Nelson and FIC s Fraud Committee in drafting the best possible language to deal with what Rep. Nelson has termed an auto insurance crisis. He notes that at the core of the crisis is staged accidents and dishonest clinics. Once concentrated in Miami Dade, the criminal activity has moved to the Tampa/Orlando region. The latest draft of his bill addresses three core areas: Funding for prosecutors and investigators; Glitches and loopholes; and Clinic license fraud. Health Insurance Mandate Expansion As noted in last week s Legislative Wrap up, the Senate Health Regulation Committee approved an autism mandate expansion after FIC lobbyist Paul Sanford successfully worked out an agreement with the bill s sponsor to limit direct patient access to one appropriate specialist. The Senate committee also approved amendments that FIC members opposed which expands the coverage to Downs Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. The House version of the bill, HB 107 by Rep. Marti Coley, R Marianna is set to be heard in the House Health Care Regulation Policy Committee when it meets Monday

3 at 1:45 p.m. After successfully amending the Senate bill to include Downs Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy, there are several amendments filed on the House bill to expand the coverage on Rep. Coley s bill as well. FIC s lobbysists will be meeting with Rep. Coley to persuade her to not allow these amendments to her bill. A leading argument is that the Autism Compact has only recently gone into affect and there is less than a year s worth of data to see how the compact is faring. Now is not the time to expand the mandate. HIV Drug Mandate Despite an estimated annual $386,000 price tag to the state, a House committee this week approved a bill creating a new HIV/AIDS health mandate. The mandate, HB 591 by Rep. Yolly Roberson, D North Miami Beach requires state regulated health plans to include antiretroviral (ARV) drugs on their drug formulary or preferred drug list. The bill also prohibits health plans from restricting access to ARVs by requiring prior authorization, step therapy, or any other limitation that limits access. FIC s lobbyists will meet with lawmakers to explain that the language in the bill that cleared the House committee is too broad. A similar bill in the Senate, SB 1132, by Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D Hollywood, has yet to move in any committee in the upper chamber. Health Fraud Bill Could Become Health Train We are also awaiting the agenda for next weeks Senate Criminal Justice Committee to be set. Our lobbyists anticipate SB 752 by Sen. Don Gaetz, R Destin to be on the agenda. His bill prohibits the Agency for Health Care Administration from issuing an initial license to a home health agency for the purpose of opening a new home health agency, and authorizes ACHA to revoke a home health agency license if the applicant or controlling interest has been sanctioned for certain criminal acts. With the slow action in the Legislature for bills deemed important by the insurance industry, lobbyists are looking at this bill as being the vehicle for attaching key elements of bills that have not yet moved or may get delayed. We will be monitoring this bill to see what amendments get filed prior to next Friday s scheduled meeting of the committee. Life Insurance Replacement Notice Language Important Replacement Notice language added to HB 885 by Rep. John Tobia, R Melbourne and SB 1364 by Sen. John Thrasher, R Jacksonville is moving. The House Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs Policy Committee approved Rep. Tobia s bill Wednesday of this week. It has two more committee stops in the House. Meanwhile, the Senate could be placed on the agenda for next Wednesday s meeting

4 of the Senate Banking & Insurance Committee. That agenda has yet to be set. Getting the replacement notice language enacted is a top priority of FIC s Life Committee. The language states: A notice to the existing insurer of replacement of a life insurance policy is not required in a transaction involving: (1) An application to the existing insurer that issued the existing policy or contract when a contractual change or conversion privilege is being exercised; or (2) An existing policy or contract is being replaced by the same insurer pursuant to a program filed with an approved by the office; or (3) A term conversion privilege being exercised among corporate affiliates. Worker s Compensation Adjuster Code of Ethics FIC s Workers Compensation Chair, Tom Koval, wrote a letter to the Department of Financial Services on behalf of FIC members this week asking for another workshop regarding a rule under development that deals with ethical requirements of public adjusters. In his letter he noted that FIC s objections to changes in the proposed notice in which the intent of the Department may not be to encompass company employee adjusters within the Proposed Changes and Additions, and particularly not to include company employee adjusters in the workers compensation field, however, his letter states, Notwithstanding, prudence dictates that the Florida Insurance council seek an additional workshop to clarify the scope of the Proposed Changes and Additions since as reported in the Notice they could be read to include them. The full text of Mr. Koval s letter can be found on FIC s website. Tort Reform Slip and Fall The full House approved a pair of legal measures supported by the business community to garner relief from tort issues. HB 689 by Rep. Gary Aubuchon, passed by an overwhelming vote of 110 to 2. Representatives Adam Fetterman, D Port St. Lucie and Mark Pafford, D West Palm Beach were the two opposing votes. The bill addresses litigation procedures in slip and fall cases resulting from injuries

5 sustained at Florida businesses. The bill requires the plaintiff to prove that the employer had constructive knowledge of any alleged condition on its premises that caused the injury. A similar bill in the Senate awaits a hearing in its only committee reference, the Senate Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means. Contingency Fee Agreements Also this week, the Florida House voted in favor of a bill that limits the amount of a contingency attorney fee that can be paid when the Florida Attorney General hires outside counsel. The bill, HB 437 limits the fee at $50 million. It is sponsored in the House be Rep. Eric Eisnaugle, R Orlando. An identical bill in the Senate by Sen. John Thrasher, R Jacksonville, awaits a hearing before the Senate Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means. Bill Reaffirming Insurance Commissioner s Appointment Moves in Senate A bill that would require the Financial Services Commission to reconfirm the appointment of the Director of the Office of Insurance Regulation every 2 years passed out of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. The insurance industry s toughest critics on the committee, Senators Rhonda Storms, R Brandon and Mike Fasano, R New Port Richey led the opposition to the bill saying it would greatly politicize the position of Insurance Commissioner. Sen. J.D. Alexander, R Lake Wales strongly supported the bill going so far as to agree with Sen. Al Lawson, D Tallahassee, who opposed the bill saying if the panel wants to politicize the position they should make the Insurance Commissioner an elected position. I d sign on to an elected Insurance Commissioner. It sure ain t working the way it is, he remarked. The bill passed on a 5 3 vote. It has at least one more committee stop in the Senate. A similar bill in the House by Rep. Scott Plakon, R Longwood, HB 1011, has not moved in committee. The bill is supported by Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink who also asked that the bill be amended to include a two year confirmation on the Director of the Office of Financial Regulation. The amendment was approved. Critics say the bill, SB 740 by Sen. Michael Bennett, R Bradenton is the result of Commissioner Kevin McCarty s office last session working with him on his deregulation bill only to have the office urge its veto once passed. That deregulation bill was vetoed by Governor Charlie Crist.