Senate defers vote on Department of Health bill, a Gov. DeSantis priority

The Senate on Monday deferred a vote on a priority health care bill for Gov. Ron DeSantis that would prohibit health care providers and facilities from discriminating against patients based solely on vaccination status.

SB 1270 was one of a slew of bills that the Senate chose to temporarily postpone. That means the chamber puts the debate over a bill on hold for the time being. Senate leaders said they intend to vote on the health bill time permitting as the Session enters its final scheduled week and the state budget for next fiscal year is still subject to House-Senate negotiation.

Republican Sen. Jay Collins is the bill sponsor.

The bill amends the existing “Florida Patient’s Bill of Rights” to permanently enshrine policy changes regarding vaccinations that DeSantis put in place during the COVID pandemic.

The bill is problematic for Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell, who worries that it opens physicians to increased medical malpractice lawsuits because it requires physicians to treat patients regardless of whether they reject their advice to be vaccinated.

Another section of SB 1270 includes a fix to a 2024 law to allow the Florida Board of Medicine to approve an applicant’s licensure by endorsement in certain circumstances, a move that the Board supports. That’s the route for any doctor who holds a medical license in one state to apply to practice in another.

The 2024 law quashed the Board’s ability approve by endorsement any physician applying for Florida licensure who:

— Has a complaint, an allegation or an investigation pending before a licensing entity in another state or territory.

— Has been convicted of, or pleaded no contest to, any felony or misdemeanor related to the practice of a health care profession, regardless of adjudication.

— Has had a health care provider license revoked or suspended by another state.

— Has voluntarily surrendered any license in lieu of having disciplinary action taken against the license.

— Has been reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank, which includes medical malpractice settlements.

The National Practitioner Data Bank includes information on medical malpractice settlements.

SB 1270 allows the Board of Medicine to approve an applicant’s licensure by endorsement as long as the offense reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank “would not constitute a violation of any law or rule in this state.”

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Christine Sexton reporting. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email protected].