Weekly Legislative Update - April 6, 2021

Health Care Advocates Concerned About Proposed Budget Cuts

Health care advocates are bemoaning proposed cuts to Florida's frontline caregivers. The starting budget released late last week by the Senate proposes a $251.2 million reduction to inpatient and outpatient base Medicaid rates and would eliminate $77.3 million directed to hospitals that treat large numbers of Medicaid patients. The House plan would go further, cutting Medicaid payments for inpatient and outpatient hospital care by $288 million. Florida Politics 

Step Therapy Bill in First House Committee Tuesday

A bill (HB 1001) that would make changes to the medical step-therapy process in Florida, with a goal of ensuring patients get the right treatment at the right time, while prohibiting health maintenance organizations from excluding coverage for certain cancer treatment drugs, among key provisions, goes before its first committee today. An identical Senate version (SB 1290) has yet to be heard, along with another similar Senate bill (SB 528). All three proposals relating to step-therapy were assigned to three committees. House Finance & Facilities Subcommittee

• More than a dozen states will open vaccine eligibility to all adults this week in a major expansion of COVID-19 shots for tens of millions of Americans amid a worrisome increase in virus cases and concerns about balancing supply and demand for the vaccines. Associated Press 

House, Senate Start Work on Budgets More Than $2 Billion Apart

The Senate and House start out about $2.12 billion apart as they begin work on budgets in committees this week. The Senate budget doesn't yet include more than $10 billion in one-time federal pandemic relief money the state is expecting to see. The House budget does account for some increased federal money, using $4.4 billion in federal dollars for increased Medicaid costs and COVID-19 response money for the Department of Education. LobbyTools Budget Comparison Tables

DeSantis Signs First Bill of Session, Legislation to Insulate Businesses, Health Providers from COVID Lawsuits

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday to give businesses and health care providers that have made an effort to follow COVID-19 protection guidelines some protection from lawsuits stemming from the virus. The legislation (SB 72) is the first passed by lawmakers this session to be signed by the Republican governor, and was a top priority for legislators in the wake of the ongoing pandemic. The law went into effect immediately. Under the measure, plaintiffs suing over COVID contraction must show proof that a defendant deliberately ignored safety measures and would need an affidavit signed by a doctor who affirms that an injury or death caused by COVID-19 was a result of the defendant’s actions. DeSantis Press Release / Associated Press / Tampa Bay Times / Florida Politics / Florida Channel Video of Bill Signing

Governor Won't Allow 'Vaccine Passports'

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he'll sign an executive order to ban businesses from excluding customers who can't show they've been vaccinated against COVID-19. The governor said during remarks after signing legislation to protect businesses from lawsuits related to the virus that he is adamant that there will be no requirement for "vaccine passports," in which businesses welcome customers who have been vaccinated, and exclude those who haven't. "It's completely unacceptable for the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine just simply to participate in normal society," DeSantis said. In addition to signing an executive order to prevent the practice, the governor said he'd also be asking the Legislature to pass legislation to make the prohibition permanent. DeSantis said a vaccine passport program would have "huge privacy implications," and "is something that is not necessary."  Florida Channel Video

“Debate brews in Florida about parental consent over sex ed” via Bobby Caina Calvan of The Associated Press — A Senate Committee advanced a measure Tuesday that would require public school boards to hold hearings on what should be included in sex education curricula. Comprehensive sex education is not mandated across Florida, but state law does not bar school districts from offering such instruction. However, current state law requires school districts to provide comprehensive health education, including what it calls “an awareness of the benefits of sexual abstinence as the expected standard and the consequences of teenage pregnancy.” Some lawmakers are seeking to rewrite the law so sex education, if offered by a school district, would not be an automatic part of a child's school curricula. Under the House proposal, schools would have to get written consent from parents.