Legislative Archives

SCMS Legislator of the Year Awards

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SCMS "2008 Representative of the Year" - Rep. Alan Hays

Representative Alan Hays was recognized for the second straight year for all his efforts on behalf of patients and the medical community.  Rep. Hays is pictured receiving his awards for 2007 & 2008, along with John Robertson, MD, SCMS Executive Director Carrie Gilbert and Glen Davis, MD.-

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SCMS "2007 Representative of the Year" - Rep. Alan Hays

Representative Alan Hays was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2006.  As a retired dentist from Umatilla, Rep. Hays has first hand knowledge of the intricacies of caring for patients.  Over the past two years he has used that knowledge as he has passionately fought for the rights of physicians and patients.  He has truly become a friend of the medical community.

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SCMS “2006 Legislator of the Year”- Rep. Dr. Ed Homan

Representative Ed Homan was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2002.  For the last four years he has worked tirelessly for the interests of all Florida's physicians in the state legislature, while still maintaining his orthopedic practice.

Ed has a special relationship with the SCMS.  He joined us when we walked for Sen. Mike Haridopolos in 2003, he included the SCMS in a recent legislative forum on future healthcare issues, and keeps us apprised of ongoing legislative issues.  He understands the importance of the political process, and represents the sacrifice it takes to make a difference.  The time Ed spends makes it easier for each of us to practice every day.

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SCMS “2005 Legislator of the Year” – Rep. David Simmons

Seminole County State Representative David Simmons was awarded the SCMS “2005 Legislator of the Year” award for the work he did placing limitations on Amendments 7 and 8 that exceeded medical community requests.  In his crucial position the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, he made sure that the enabling legislation passed would both benefit and protect all Floridians.

The Seminole County Medical Society Delegation at the 2005 FMA Annual Meeting, with Seminole County Representative David Simmons and his FMA “2005 Legislator of the Year” award.  From left to right: Sanjiv Kapil, MD; Glen Davis, MD; State Representative Dr. Ed Homan; 2005 FMA President Dennis Agliano, MD; Sam Omar, MD; State Representative David Simmons, Ken Wing, MD; Richard Bragg, MD; and Clyde Clymer, MD.

The SCMS Legislative Committee

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SCMS 2008 Legislative Committee:

Glen Davis, MD - Chair
Frank Clontz, MD
Shirley Davis, MSN - Alliance
Bob Feldman, MD
Hank Greenberg, MD - FMA Representative
Josh Helman, MD
Steve Lester, MD
Sam Omar, MD
Hal Pineless, DO
Sanjay Reddy, MD
John Robertson, MD
Norma Ryan, Alliance President
Lloyd Werk, MD
Richard Bragg, MD - SCMS President

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Legislative Committee Updates:

Legislative Committee minutes - 10/6/08

Legislative Committee minutes - 6/3/08

Legislative Committee Update - 3/28/08

Legislative Committee minutes - 3/4/08

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Legislative Committee Purpose:

The Legislative Committee of the Seminole County Medical Society will inform and advise the members of the Medical Society regarding legislative issues on the local, state, and national levels. The Committee will solicit the help and support of the membership on critical legislative issues, and work to maximize the Society’s influence in legislative affairs.

The Committee will:

1. Interview candidates for elected positions, and distribute information on their positions to the membership. The Committee will utilize the resources and coordinate efforts with FLAMPAC.
2. Assign members to both meet with, and become “Key Contacts” with individual elected legislators. The Committee will relate information about those legislators to the membership.
3. Solicit the membership’s views on political issues that pertain to healthcare.
   Work with the Society’s Program Director to coordinate the attendance of elected officials at Medical Society meetings, so members can have an opportunity to meet and lobby legislators on important issues.
4. Coordinate political fundraising efforts to maximize the Society’s political influence. The Committee will keep the membership informed on the results of fundraising efforts.
5. Coordinate membership campaign assistance for selected races, including door-to-door walking campaigns, or providing members with flyers for candidates or on issues to be posted in offices during elections.
6. From time to time address specific issues and engage the membership in specific political efforts.
7. Represent the interests of the membership at the Florida Medical Association’s Annual Meeting. The Committee will solicit members for Resolutions to be introduced at that meeting.
   Liaison with other County Medical Societies on legislative efforts.
8. Work closely with the SCMS Alliance on legislative efforts.

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The SCMS Delegation for the FMA Annual Meeting

Delegation for the 2007 FMA Annual Meeting

• John Robertson, MD
• Vraj Panara, MD
• Ken Wing, MD

SCMS Resolutions presented at the 2005 FMA Annual Meeting

During the 2005 FMA Annual Meeting the Seminole County Medical Society Delegation presented 10 important Resolutions.  The results of those proposals were:

1. Emergency Room Call Coverage – the FMA set up a committee to look at whether the ER call coverage problem can be addressed using a statewide perspective.
2. Establishing the “Standard of Care” for Medical Expert Testimony – the FMA will use the items the SCMS proposed to help create a standard.  The SCMS is in the process of putting the standard for SCMS physicians in the SCMS By-laws.
3. Reducing Liability Risk – the FMA established that physicians have the right to limit their practices.
4. Patient Safety Initiatives – most of the language and recommendations proposed by the SCMS were incorporated into the FMA’s new patient safety policy.
5. The FMA and Information Technology – the FMA committed to maintaining a leadership position in IT among state medical associations.
6. Curbing Negative Political Activity – this Resolution did not pass, but FMA leaders committed to maintaining professionalism in future political debates.
7. Income Tax Credits for Uninsured Care – this did not pass as a Resolution, but we have received assurance that it will be kept under consideration by the AMA.
8. Creating a FMA Defense Expert Witness Program - action was deferred on this Resolution to concentrate on the Expert Witness Reform issue.  The SCMS is developing having most of this option available for SCMS members through the new SCMS medical liability protection program.
9. Creating a FMA Legal Defense Program - action was deferred on this Resolution to concentrate on the Expert Witness Reform issue.  The SCMS is developing having most this option available for SCMS members through the new SCMS medical liability protection program.
10. Creating a Program for Self-Insured Physicians – action was deferred on this Resolution so the FMA could concentrate on the Expert Witness Reform issue.

A Summary of Florida Legislative Sessions

The 2009 Florida Legislative Session

FMA Annual Meeting Report  

 

The 2008 Florida Legislative Session

The outcome of health-related bills that were proposed

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The 2007 Florida Legislative Session

The 2007 session ended on May 4th. Thanks to the hard work of the FMA staff, FMA members, county medical societies, specialty societies, the Alliance and the support of key legislators, the medical community was able to pass some important legislation and stop a multitude of bills targeting physicians.

The following summary of some of the issues from this session was provided by FMA CEO/EVP Sandra Mortham:

Assessment of Physicians

In the last bill this year the FMA stopped an assessment on Florida physicians by extending an exemption in current law that was set to expire. Had the FMA not acted, ALL physicians who carry medical liability insurance would have been susceptible to huge assessments to bolster the state’s hurricane catastrophe fund.

Scope of Practice Bills Killed

Bills killed this year would have allowed:

• ARNPs to prescribe controlled substances, certify cause of death and sign death certificates
• Psychologists to order lab tests
• Expansion of scope of practice for Clinical Nurse Specialists

Scope of Practice Bill Passed

Legislation allowing pharmacists to administer flu shots for adults, pursuant to a protocol with a physician.

Tort Reform

An effort of the trial lawyers to strip physicians of their ability to adequately defend themselves in medical liability cases (Fabre doctrine) was killed.

Legislation that would have made it more difficult for a medical liability insurer to provide their insured physicians with an adequate defense was killed.

An amendment that created two new causes of action against physicians was killed.

Medicaid

Due to a budget shortfall there was no increase given to physicians for Medicaid reimbursements. However, the point was made that an increase is long overdue, and we expect both House and Senate leadership to work on this issue next year.

Certificate of Exemption for Physician’s Offices

A proposal that would have required doctors’ offices to pay a fee and obtain a certificate of exemption from medical clinic licensure laws was killed.

PIP

A fee schedule that the auto insurers were attempting to force on physicians and a hospital proposal to force all PIP patients into emergency rooms was killed.

Board of Medicine

A bill that would have changed the makeup of the Board of Medicine by reducing the number of doctors on the board and increasing the number of lay persons was killed. The FMA also assisted FOMA and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine in passing legislation regarding licensure of DOs.

Physician Workforce Data Collection

Legislation was passed requiring the collection of physician workforce data by the Department of Health. This data is to assess the negative impact on Florida’s physician workforce due to the medical liability crisis and inadequate reimbursement levels, and will be used for medical education planning.

Electronic Prescribing

Legislation was passed that waives the licensure renewal fee (a savings of about $400) for physicians who implement electronic prescribing systems.

Other Bills

Legislation prohibiting certain types of psychiatric treatment for children was passed.

A law that requires fiscal intermediaries to comply with current prompt pay laws was passed.

A law that allows a doctor to control the type of drugs given to transplant patients was passed.

Legislation that would have increased the cost and burden on physicians who treat deaf/hearing impaired patients was killed.

Special Session

Governor Crist will be calling a Special Session in June and PIP may be included along with Property Tax Reform.

Special Thanks

SCMS and the medical community owe a special thanks to FMA CEO/EVP Sandra Mortham and the entire FMA legislative staff for their work this past legislative session. The staff, headed by Francie Plendl, did a phenomenal job. Francie, John Knight, Jeff Scott, Fred Whitson and Michelle Jacquis have worked incredibly hard over the last six months, and spent many long nights over the last two weeks of the session making sure our interests were protected. Thanks also to Sarah Rothell for the wonderful job she did coordinating the FMA legislative visitation program with the Florida Chapter of the ACP.

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Rep. Sandy Adams

Republican State Representative Sandy Adams is running for re-election in District 33 (Oviedo, western Seminole County, and part of Deltona).  With her background in law enforcement, Rep. Adams has taken a legislative lead in improving security at seaports and airports and requiring tougher sentences for sexual predators.  She supports sales tax relief, improved funding for local schools, and private property rights.  Since she was first elected in 2002, Rep. Adams has been an excellent, hard working legislator, a good friend of the medical community, and has always supported patient issues.

For more information about Rep. Adams, click here. 

You can help by sending a check today (of up to $500 – not tax deductible) made out to “Sandy Adams Campaign” to

Carrie Gilbert
SCMS Executive Director
P.O. Box 951450
Lake Mary, FL 34795

If you are willing to put information about Rep. Adams in your office, and/ or put up a sign for her, please contact Carrie Gilbert at scms@scmsociety.com or at 407-804-9535.

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Crucial Election

Arthur Palamara, MD, Democrat
House of Representatives, District 99
Brevard County

Arthur is a former Vice President of the FMA, and has been active in organized medicine for years.  He has championed such causes as patient advocacy against HMOs, mental health parity, and patient safety (he was a speaker at the April 22nd Seminole County Patient Safety Summit).  He was a leader in tort reform, and organized efforts in South Florida for a fly-in to Tallahassee in 2002—which prepared the way for successful legislation in 2003 and 2004.

Arthur is a "Mainstream" Democrat dedicated to reducing the number of uninsured patients in Florida and arresting double-digit health care insurance inflation.  He plans to aggressively seek solutions for burgeoning property insurance rates and improve education by introducing programs such as KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program).

This election is another top priority election.  Arthur is one of the most well respected physicians in Florida, and his election would give Florida physicians another eloquent voice in the House.  To support Arthur, please send up to a $500 check to:

Arthur Palamara Campaign
3850 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 302
Hollywood, Florida  33021

Call for more information - 954-989-5533
E-mail - arthur@arthurpalamara.com
Website - www.arthurpalamara.com

Crucial Primary Election

Kim Berfield, Republican
State Senate, District 16
Tampa & Clearwater

This is our top priority race for the September 5th Primary.  Representative Kim Berfield is running for election in the state Senate, and needs our help and financial support.  She has a perfect voting record on FMA issues over her 6-year tenure in the Florida House, serving on the House Health Care Committee and Insurance Committee. 

Her opponent is Representative (and chiropractor) Frank Farkas, who has been a thorn in the side of all Florida physicians.  In 2005 and 2006, Rep. Farkas sponsored legislation to eliminate a physician’s ability “go bare”.  He supported the trial attorneys by proposing to raise the requirements for medical liability insurance from $250,000 to $500,000. 

If Rep. Farkas wins this primary there is a good chance he will win the general election, where he will continue to be antagonistic to physicians for years in the state Senate.  Rep. Farkas was ahead in the polls early in the race, and Kim needs our help to continue closing the gap.  Please send up to a $500 contribution to:

Kim Berfield Campaign
1550 McMullen-Booth Road
F3-121
Clearwater, FL 33759

Call for more information - 727-324-7361
Email - contact@berfield2006.com
Website - http://www.berfield2006.com/

Report on the 2006 Legislative Session

The medical community showed considerable strength during the 2006 Florida Legislative Session that ended the first of May.  The Florida Medical Association, with assistance from our other state medical associations, helped pass several significant pieces of legislation, while thwarting almost all the bills opposed by organized medicine.

Major bills passed:

• HB 145/SB 2006 - the elimination of joint and several liability:   Passage of this bill was a joint effort between the FMA and the business community, and was strongly opposed by the trial bar.  It is hoped that this bill will make it less likely that non-negligent physicians will be named in lawsuits, and ultimately help lower medical liability premiums.  It should at least help restore some fairness to the fault apportionment process. 

• HB 699:  This bill reins in uncontrolled expansion of unsupervised satellite offices, while also addressing several other important issues.  The bill:
  Reduces the Domestic Violence Mandate to once every three licensing cycles;Reduces the HIV CME mandate to once, before one's first license renewal; Requires ARNP protocols to be available for public inspection on the nurse's profile;Limits the unsupervised practice of ARNPs and PAs in satellite offices to: 4 such satellites for primary care physicians; 2 such satellites for specialists; 2 such satellites if the services are primarily skin care, and only 1 as of 2011.  Skin care satellites must be supervised by a board certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist.
  Requires the disclosure of the physician's licensure, and that of any treating health care provider working under the physician's supervision, when the patient is referred to the physician's office.  Patients must be given the opportunity to see the physician.

• HB 487 - the Truth in Medical Education Bill:  This bill requires all practitioners in an outpatient setting to disclose to the patient the license under which they are operating.  It should help prevent the deceptive practice of less-qualified practitioners concealing their training. 

Legislation successfully opposed:

• The attempt to change Amendment 3:  The FMA was successful in thwarting an attempt to change the constitutional amendment capping trial attorney contingency fees into simple legislation.  This was a major victory for the medical community, and a crushing defeat for the trial attorney lobby.

• Bills defeated in various committees:  1)  To eliminated the right to self-insure, and increased the minimum requirement for medical liability insurance (proposed by chiropractic legislators Senator Jones and Representative Frank Farkas); 2) to allow ARNP prescribing of controlled substances without supervision; and 3) to allow "naturopathic" physicians to be licensed.

The FMA Legislative Team

SCMS physicians are extremely fortunate to have the superb lobbying team of the FMA working on our behalf.  Below are key people from FMA leadership and the FMA’s legal and legislative team, who lobby so effectively for the FMA and SCMS.-

Jeff Scott – FMA Director of Legal & Governmental Affairs

Jeff is a former trial attorney who defended physicians in medical liability cases.  His expertise is in tort issues.  Jeff is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, and the Florida State University College of Law.

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Michelle Jacquis - Associate Director of Governmental Affairs

Michelle is responsible for analyzing and tracking legislation, assisting with legislative activities and lobbying.  She serves as the staff contact for the Specialty Society Section.  Michelle has been with the FMA since 1999.  She graduated from Florida State University with a BS in Political Science.

Political Support

Physicians can be involved in the political/legislative process in many ways and on many levels.  One of the easiest is to become involved with the campaign of those Seminole County legislators who support the physician community.  Involvement can consist of actively campaigning for a legislator (attending fundraisers, posting campaign materials in your office, walking door-to-door for a candidate, helping to mail campaign materials), getting to personally know your legislators (either on your own, or through the efforts of the SCMS Legislative Committee), becoming a “Key Contact”, and/or making political contributions.

Campaign contributions drive politics.  Legislators are obsessed with raising funds, because they must get elected and re-elected to be able to make a difference.  Political contributions do not buy votes, but they do help assure access to legislators, to make sure your voice gets heard.

There are four key ways to financially help the SCMS and FMA political effort:

Direct Campaign Contributions:

Every legislator needs to raise campaign funds.  For physicians, the question is often how much to contribute, and how to allocate potential contributions most effectively. 

Both the SCMS and the FMA can give guidance as to what races are the most crucial for fundraising.  Candidates will often have several fundraisers.  Fundraisers are a great way to meet many legislators (many will attend to show support for the others—be sure and make your attendance known to all of them); as well as show support for the candidate.  However, if asked to attend a fundraiser, it is reasonable to ask the SCMS or FMA for guidance first, since many times the funds raised will be credited to those who put the fundraiser together (the best is to wait and attend a fundraiser coordinated by FMA PAC, or a physician). 

For those who want to develop a personal relationship with a legislator, it is reasonable to give a campaign check directly to that legislator (or even better, get a few other physicians to also give a check).  There are rules limiting the amount of campaign contributions per election ($500 for state elections).  A general rule for deciding how much to contribute is:

• $100 is appreciated
• $250 gets noticed
• $500 gets remembered

FMA PAC

FMA PAC (Florida Medical Association Political Action Committee) is a non-partisan, political action committee created by the FMA to elect pro-medicine candidates to state and national legislative offices. The membership of FMA PAC includes physicians, physician spouses, medical students and residents, association staff and others who take an active role in the health care community.

FMA PAC solicits voluntary contributions that are used to research, select and support the election of candidates who support medicine’s concerns. FMA PAC provides political education to its members through workshops, publications and other activities regarding campaigns and current legislation. A portion of the FMA PAC contribution is allocated to the American Medical Political Action Committee (AMPAC), which operates at the national level to support pro-medicine candidates for U.S. Senate and Congress.

All physicians should be members of FMA PAC.  A FMA PAC membership allows the combining of valuable financial resources, and allows the FMA PAC staff to effectively influence the political process. The cost is only $150 per year for a single membership, or $250 per year for a family membership.

The MD 1000 Club

The Millennium Donors (MD) 1000 Club was created to assist pro-medicine candidates in their quest for elected office. The Club provides additional funding when it is needed in designated close races.

MD 1000 Club members pledge contributions totaling $1,000 during the course of an election cycle (two years).  An initial $500 contribution is made to the issue advocacy organization, People for a Better Florida; followed by a $500 contribution on request to a “targeted” pro-medicine candidate late in the election cycle.  MD 1000 Club members will receive an over-night letter requesting a specific amount for a designated candidate to be returned to the FMA for delivery to the candidate.

Three additional levels of membership have been added to the MD 1000 Club:

• Silver Members - those who raise or contribute $5,000
• Gold Members - those who raise or contribute $10,000
• Platinum Members - those members or groups who raise or contribute $25,000 or more.

On larger donations the proceeds go to the issue advocacy organization, People for a Better Florida (PBF).

The MD 1000 Club does make a difference.  In the 2002 and 2004 elections, the 1000 Club played a significant role in several highly contested House and Senate races in the Florida Legislature, including the election of Ed Homan, MD, Paige Kreegal, MD, and Gayle Harrell (a physician’s spouse) to the Florida House.

For a MD 1000 Club membership application, click here…

People for a Better Florida (PBF)

People for a Better Florida is an issue advocacy organization that directs its efforts related to certain issues, rather than on specific candidates.  There is no contribution limits.  For more information about PBF, click here…

The FLAMPAC staff:

Physicians in Florida are luck to have one of the best run, and most effective PAC organizations in the country.  The key individuals of the FMA PAC staff include:

Tim Stapleton - FMA PAC Executive Director:

Tim is responsible for the FMA's political operations, a capacity he has served during the last four election cycles.  Tim has more than 15 years of legislative and political experience.  Prior to joining the FMA, he worked for the American Medical Association the Medical Society of the State of New York, and he served as legislative director for the Illinois Attorney General.  Tim is a graduate of Indiana University with a B.A. in Political Science.

Sarah Rothell - FMA PAC Deputy Executive Director

Sarah is responsible for the daily operations of FMA PAC, and with assisting with lobbying and grassroots activities.  Sarah joined FMA in 1999 after working for the Florida House of Representatives.  She is a graduate of Iowa State University with a B.A. in Political Science.

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James Rubenstein, MD - 2008 FMA PAC President

James is a practicing Radiation Oncologist in Ft. Meyers.  He received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine in 1981, did a residency in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and completed a residency in Radiation Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1986.  He holds a faculty position in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Miami. James was the President of the American College of Radiation Oncology in 2003, and served as the Treasurer Designate of FMA PAC in 2004.