May Legislative Update

Legislative Update

As I write this Ebrief on April 30th, please note that the Legislative Session is scheduled to end this Friday, May 2nd. Unfortunately, the respective bodies have not been able to come to agreement on what tax relief they want to provide Floridians, which means they cannot agree to an amount to spend on this year’s budget. Overtime is definite, but to date, how that will play out has yet to be determined.

Mammography bills have been plentiful this session.

SB 158 by Senator Berman the companion bill to HB 141 by Representative Woodson relating to coverage of diagnostic and supplemental breast exams for state employees passed today and is on the way to the Governor’s desk. 

Senator Traci Davis’s bill, SB 1578, which changed the date that Medicaid patients could start receiving mammograms to 25 along with other issues with the bill, was temporarily postponed and removed from further consideration. She plans to work with us on the issue over the summer.  I worked closely with her and educated her that the bill as written did not promote good healthcare public policy. The companion bill, HB 187, by Rep Hart was never heard in the House.

HB 131 by Rep Caruso and companion bill SB 372 by Sen Harrell were never heard in the House or the Senate. The bills would have permitted woman with dense breasts to go directly to Ultrasound or MRI without a mammogram. These bills did not pass.

Thanks to all on the Breast Imaging Workgroup for their help with these mammography bills.

The licensure issue, “mobility”, that is making it difficult for doctors to get licensed in the state of Florida is still in play, but time is running out for this Session. The final update will be in the next month’s Ebrief.

Best,
Alison Dudley Lobbyist, FRS
alisondudley@dudleyandassociates.com