As Florida state lawmakers headed into the second half of their legislative session, two proactive bills requested by the Florida Chiropractic Association (FCA) continued to advance through their committees, reported a Feb. 9 FCA press release.
Senate Bill 1474
Senate Bill 1474 made its debut in its first Senate committee of reference, the Senate Health Policy Committee. Sponsored by Sen. Jay Trumbull (R-Panama City), the bill proposes two changes to Ch. 460, the statutes regulating chiropractic.
First, the bill seeks to fix a recently discovered problem for chiropractic graduates awaiting Florida licensure by changing a statute that requires applicants for licensure to have received a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. college or university – after having graduated from chiropractic college and having passed the national board exam.
Second, the bill also seeks to provide statutory clarity in the scope of practice for DCs already trained and providing patients with dry needling therapy.
FCA General Counsel Kim Driggers provided testimony and represented the only chiropractic group offering support for the measure, while two members of the Florida Chiropractic Society (FCS) testified vehemently in opposition to the dry needling provisions, stating dry needling was not in a DC’s scope of practice.
Amanda Sellers, from Longwood, a Palmer-Florida graduate who passed all parts of the NBCE exam but was forced to withdraw her application for licensure because of this bachelor’s degree glitch, provided compelling testimony in support of the provisions addressing her matriculation difficulties. Sellers must work as a CCPA with the hopes of this bill’s passage, or she will be forced to obtain a new bachelor’s degree before she can practice chiropractic.
Following a round of questioning, the committee approved the measure by a 9-1 vote, sending it forward to its last committee of reference, the Senate Rules Committee.
House Bill 731
Committee action also took place in the House on a second FCA priority proposal, HB 731 by Rep. Adam Botana (R-Bonita Springs), which aims to provide a first step in bringing attention and transparency to auto insurers’ scheme of targeting DCs seeking a “claw-back” of paid personal injury protection (PIP) claims under the threat of a federal lawsuit alleging fraud.
Again, the FCA was the only chiropractic group testifying in favor of the bill before the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee. Rising in opposition was the head of the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, a pro-insurance industry group funded by the state’s largest carriers.
Following a round of questioning, the subcommittee voted in favor of the bill by a vote of 15-1, sending it forward to the House State Administration & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee.
Budgets for 2024-25
This same week also saw the House and Senate debate on the floor and ultimately pass out their respective state government budget plans for FY 2024-25. They will begin discussions to resolve the differences between the two plans, meeting in a usually exhaustive series of joint Senate-House conference committees to reach a consensus on a single plan to take back to their respective floors for a final vote before adjourning. Much of the Legislature’s work during their second half will center on these budget negotiations.
Other issues
Here’s a look at some of the other issues the FCA Lobby Team is following:
Health Care / Interstate Licensure – This 300+ page bill creates a new Interstate licensure statute (456.0145) applicable to all physician healthcare professionals wherein the Department of Health is required to issue an out-of-state applicant whose scope of practice is “similar,” as defined by the Board, within seven days, if the applicant practiced two years and has no disciplinary action in the prior five years, along with some other minor requirements. The bill defines scope of practice as “the full spectrum of functions, procedures, actions, and services that a health care practitioner is deemed competent and authorized to perform under a license issued in this state.” The bill passed the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee on Feb. 6 and next heads to the Health and Human Services Committee. (HB 1549 by Grant)
Medical Specialty Designations – Efforts again this year to more closely regulate the titles physicians may hold out to the public in advertising and in any specialty designations they have earned were on the table again. The Senate Rules Committee voted unanimously to advance Sen. Gayle Harrell’s bill addressing the subject, making it available for consideration on the floor by the full Senate.
The similar House bill sponsored by Rep. Ralph Massullo (R-Beverly Hills) awaits consideration in its final referenced committee before it can head to the floor. Though not identical, both bills protect DCs’ titles and specialty designations. The FCA thanks both sponsors for working with the FCA to address its concerns. (SB 1112 by Harrell, HB 1295 by Massullo)
No-fault/PIP Auto Insurance Repeal, MBI Replacement — There was no further action on the latest attempt to repeal PIP and replace it with a mandatory bodily injury coverage requirement. These two bills are among the approximately 700 other bills yet to be heard in any of their referenced committees, making it much more difficult to win final passage before the Legislature adjourns. (SB 464 by Grall & HB 653 by Alvarez)
Live Healthy Initiative – Healthcare Workforce & Innovation — Already passed by the full Senate and a top priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples), this pair of bills seeks to promote a growing and innovative healthcare workforce to keep up with Florida’s growing population by removing regulatory barriers of licensure and allowing more access to the healthcare workforce. Both bills have been sent to the House, where they continue to wait on the calendar for consideration by the lower chamber. (SB 7016 & SB 7018 by Senate Health Policy)