Ready, set, GO… The 2017 Florida Legislature convenes at noon on March 7, 2017, and the FMA has been working hard on preparing a legislative agenda that is friendly to the physician/patient relationship. Several of the FMA’s legislative priorities now have bill numbers:

Direct Primary Care (House Bill 161/Senate Bill 240)

The direct primary care system is described as “an alternative to the traditional fee-for-service model in which patients are charged a simple, affordable flat monthly fee for comprehensive coverage of all primary care services.”

The bills would authorize such arrangements, specifying that they do not constitute insurance policies subject to oversight by the Office of Insurance Regulation.

Retroactive Denials (Senate Bill 579/ Senate Bill 102)

This bill seeks to ban insurers from retroactively denying payment for services they previously approved.

Step Therapy (Senate Bill 530-Health Insurance)

The bill addresses prior authorization requirements and would allow a physician to override an insurance company's "fail first" protocols. Rep. Shawn Harrison will file a similar bill in the House.

Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., the Republican-controlled Congress has not reached a consensus on replacing Obamacare. At a policy retreat last week, House Speaker Paul Ryan told Republican members he expects the House to vote on reconciliation legislation in March. Two different plans have emerged in the Senate: Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. and Sen. Susan Collins have unveiled the "Patient Freedom Act of 2017" and are seeking bipartisan support. Sen. Rand Paul, M.D., has introduced his own plan.

What the FMA Alliance Legislation Committee is doing to support this pro-medicine legislative agenda:

• On Friday, Feb 24th, the FMAA Legislation Committee will hold an open conference call for ALL FMAA Members. Chris Clark, FMA Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, will be our speaker. The call will take place at 10:00 am. Free Conference Call Dial-in - contact us for information.
  
• The FMAA Legislation Committee is working to assemble a “Key Contact” list for the state of Florida. Our new management executive, Peggy Crowley, has created a spreadsheet listing all of our House and Senate members. The spreadsheet will be distributed to all of you so that you may identify any House members and/or senators that you know. This "Key Contacts" list is a "cast-a-wide-net" strategy to identify FMAA members who can speak to these legislative leaders about supporting pro-medicine bills.