By Sammy Mack -
Abortion, plastic surgery, nursing homes and minority health – these are just a few of the issues addressed in bills proposed for Florida’s 2012 legislative session.
As things heat up in Tallahassee, we’ve compiled a list of the health-related bills to watch:
Cosmetic and Office Procedures
There’s been quite a row in the past year over who can perform what and where. Following the deaths of several South Florida women who had liposuction outside of surgical rooms, there’s a move to limit what kind of surgical procedures can be done in the average doctor’s office. Meanwhile, other specialists are seeking a wider scope of practice.
- SB 362 / HB 425 - Surgical Technology and HB 477 / SB 544 Health Care: These bills tighten criteria for practicing surgical procedures. They set a higher standard for what counts as a surgical facility. And they would force most liposuction procedures to happen in a surgical facility instead of a doctor’s clinic.
- SB 1330/ HB 381 – Electrolysis: This legislation would loosen oversight requirements for electrolysis. Electrolygists would still operate under the supervision of a doctor (something industry groups have chafed at), but the doctor would no longer be required to be on site.
- SB 788/ HB 261 – Eye Health Care: This bill would give more autonomy to optometrists, allowing them greater prescribing powers and widening what they can treat.
Assisted Living Facilities (ALF) and Nursing Homes
Last year it looked as if Florida was poised to ease already-thin oversight of assisted living facilities. Then the Miami Herald published a series of investigative reports that exposed abuse, neglect and deaths that should have been prevented in Florida’s broken ALF industry. Lawmakers quickly had a change of heart. As a result, several bills this session take aim at ALFs and other facilities that care for vulnerable populations.
- HB 397 / SB 658 - Assisted Living Facilities: This bill would create a program to evaluate and develop better ways to run and oversee ALFs in Florida. It would be responsible for developing recommendations and finding a way to streamline enforcement of the rules governing ALFs.
- HB 621 / SB 482 – Nursing Homes and Related Health Care Facilities; HB 787/ SB 1292 – Nursing Home Facilities; and HB 569 / SB 1332 Staffing Requirements for Nursing Home Facilities: This cluster of bills clarifies what facilities fall under the rules governing nursing homes. They also tighten restrictions related to staffing minimums and licensing. And they would establish residents’ rights.
- HB 529 / SB 694 - Adult Day Care Centers aka “Alzheimer’s Adult Day Care Dignity Act”: This act would establish licensing and training requirements for day care centers that specialize in caring for people with Alzheimer’s.
Public Health
Health is more than insurance and doctors’ offices. Two proposed bills in particular acknowledge that health often begins with the communities we live in.
- HB 459/ SB 564 – Office of Minority Health: Minority populations in Florida suffer disproportionate health burdens. This legislation would establish a government body that addresses these issues and coordinates with state health agencies.
- HB 723 / SB 886 – Community Health Workers: This bill establishes a task force to develop community health worker networks. The idea would be to cultivate community health workers who can shore up public health and increase access to care in underserved areas.
Child Health
They may not be a voting constituency, but children are the subject of several health-related bills this session. The proposed legislation would impact children’s health from the classroom to the doctor’s office.
- SB 256 / HB 291 – Youth and Student Athletes: This legislation would create a statewide concussion screening protocol for high school athletes. High school football players who get hit in the head would have to be cleared by a doctor to re-enter the game. The same basic bill died last year when lawmakers fought over whether or not chiropractors qualified to clear student athletes. Expect a fight over the same issue again this year.
- HB 4057 - Physical Education in the Public Schools: This bill would repeal a mandate that children in sixth through eighth grades take physical education classes. To supporters, ending the requirement would ease pressures on overburdened schools. To opponents, the bill would exacerbate childhood obesity.
- HB 849 / SB 510 – Florida Kidcare Program: If this bill passes, children of state employees could be eligible for the state-subsidized children’s insurance program. Currently, kids of government employees cannot enroll in Kidcare, even if the families meet the financial eligibilities.
Health Crime
The Florida Department of Health took heat earlier last year for not doing a better job of suspending doctors’ licenses after felony convictions. DOH responded by expediting suspension orders. But as Florida Surgeon Geneneral Dr. Frank Farmer told HealthNewsFlorida.org, getting truly thorough background checks on doctors “would take legislative action.” Which brings us to:
- HB 653 / SB 208 – Health Care Fraud: “Revises grounds under which DOH or corresponding board is required to refuse to admit candidate to examination & refuse to issue or renew license, certificate, or registration of health care practitioner.” In short, this bill gives the Department of Health broader oversight – and more responsibility – to revoke licenses from criminal docs.
Abortion
Last session, Florida passed several abortion-restricting bills. This time around, two notable pieces of legislation – with support in both the House and Senate – would further restrict abortion in Florida. Pro-choice groups like Planned Parenthood oppose the trend; Pro-life groups like Personhood Florida welcome it:
- HB 1151/SB 1374 – Abortion: “The Legislature finds that personal liberty is not a license to kill an innocent human life under any provision of the United States Constitution.” This bill would ban and criminalize almost all abortions except for medical emergencies in which the pregnant woman is at risk of dying.
- HB 277/SB 290 – Abortions: This bill re-introduces pieces of abortion legislation that were not passed last session. Notably: the bill bans most abortions past the point when a fetus becomes viable, effectively restricting procedures past 20 weeks.
This reporter can be reached at smack@miamiherald.com.
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[...] What The Florida Legislature Is Working On Concerning HealthHealthyState.orgFollowing the deaths of several South Florida women who had liposuction outside of surgical rooms, there's a move to limit what kind of surgical procedures can be done in the average doctor's office. Meanwhile, other specialists are seeking a wider … [...]