FMA Had A Winning SeasonSandra B. Mortham, EVP/CEO, Florida Medical AssociationThe 2000 Florida Legislative Session ended Friday, May 5. For 60 days the Republican led Legislature debated a variety of bills dealing with everything from a $50.9 billion budget, major tax reductions and health care reform. The Florida Medical Association (FMA), Florida Medical Association Alliance (FMAA) and its component county medical societies enjoyed one of their most successful sessions in recent history. Although we did not pass every piece of legislation we introduced (HMO Accountability and Medical Malpractice Tort Reform), your commitment to political and grassroots involvement ensured the defeat of legislation that would have adversely affected your practice, while accomplishing great things on behalf of you and your patients. Priority one for the FMA is always the same every session; protect the base of your profession -- SCOPE OF PRACTICE. We once again defeated all legislation expanding the scope of practice of allied health professionals. For at least another year ARNPs, Optometrists, Pharmacists and others will not be able impede into the practice of medicine through legislation rather than education. As is always the case, these issues will resurface again next year. Unfortunately, scope of practice issues are not the only ones the House of Medicine must defeat year after year. Your FMA reviews hundreds of pieces of legislation each session to make sure they contain nothing that would negatively impact the practice of medicine. The 2000 Legislative Session was no different. With your help, we DEFEATED legislation that would have caused you to report gifts you receive from pharmaceutical companies, a restricted Medicaid formulary with a prior authorization component, expansion of the wrongful death statute and the removal of a physician's ability to self-insure. These are just a few of the issues the FMA was engaged in battle on this year. While "killing" the legislative proposals that would negatively affect the practice of medicine in Florida, the FMA was also passing great public health policy as well. The physicians and patients of the state will enjoy many benefits enacted during the 2000 Legislative Session. Below is a brief description of our "must pass" legislation we moved through the legislative arena. There were many other positive measures passed from increased funding for trauma centers to hearing testing for newborns. Prompt Pay/DowncodingEnsures that HMOs are held accountable in their business relationships with physicians, ensures timely payments, and provides a means to appeal adverse HMO decisions. Physicians will finally have a mechanism to more adequately deal with managed care companies. It is estimated that the downcoding provision of this legislation could save physicians upwards of $10,000 annually. HMO Adverse DeterminationsRequires that only a physician may render an adverse determination regarding a covered benefit for an HMO patient. The physician may be an out of state physician but must have an unencumbered license and shall be identified to the patient. HospitalistProhibits HMOs from mandating the use of hospitalists by their policyholders. Patients will be able to see their physician when admitted to the hospital. 1.5% Tax ReductionRepeals a portion of the 1.5% tax on net operating revenues for physician office practices, which provide clinical laboratory and diagnostic imaging services. The PMATF tax will now be reduced to 1.0% and will save Florida's physician who pay the tax thousands individually and over $8 million collectively. We will again pursue a reduction in the tax again next year. The goal of medicine is to wipe out the "sick tax" completely by the year 2002. $23 Million Increase ApprovedWe were fortunate to convince the legislature to approve a $23 MILLION increase for Medicaid Physician Reimbursement across the board to all specialties. This is the first across the board increase for physicians in Medicaid Reimbursement in over ten years. DOH PackageThe Department of Health's 2000 Legislative package passed the legislature with a number of provisions that will benefit our members. Included in the package are provisions that increase penalties for individuals practicing medicine without a license, better access for HMO patients to see ophthalmologists, increased physician supervision of electrologists using lasers, removal of language in law that required medical malpractice pre-suit notices to be filed with the department (would have been public before probable cause was found by the Board of Medicine) and removal of duplicative language that would have required Medicaid physicians to be fingerprinted twice. The FMA truly had a great legislative session. It is your involvement that enables our continued success in the legislative arena. If you have any questions regarding the results of the 2000 Session, call 800/762-0233 and ask for Craig Hansen, Director of Governmental Affairs. He was a tireless worker and deserves a pat on the back from every physician in the state. What's New
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