Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday came out in favor of how the House of Representatives is trying to revamp the states no-fault insurance program.
After watching the Florida Highway Patrol demonstrate how accidents are staged in order to illegally collect insurance payments, Scott said there are elements of the separate personal injury protection reform bills still making their ways through each legislative chamber.
But he considered the House version, HB 119, sponsored by Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, as doing a better job than the Senate in targeting attorneys and medical providers that have taken advantage of a system that requires motorists to carry $10,000 worth of coverage, with insurance companies required to pay out regardless of who caused the accident.
The result of fraud, officials claim, has been a leap in premiums by nearly $1 billion for Florida drivers in the past several years.
The House bill does a better job of (stopping) this. Right now, Im hopeful theyll come together and a have a great bill, Scott said after watching the fake-crash demonstration at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy in Havana -- west of Tallahassee.
We have to crack down on providers that are taking advantage of the system and weve got to crack down on lawyers that are taking advantage of the system.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, also on hand for the morning demonstration, added that both have good elements, but gave higher marks to the reform effort outlined in Senate Bill 1860.
Why are we chasing the end? Atwater said.
The current system, he said, provides an incentive to fraudsters to stage accidents and clinics to treat "victims" of them.
"That's where we all agree is the starting point," he said.
The House bill requires those injured in auto accidents to get treatment in an emergency room within 72 hours and bans chiropractors and massage therapists from follow-up care coverage. It also caps attorneys' fees in both individual and class-action disputes.
The Senate bill, SB 1860, introduced by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, tightens procedures for licensing medical clinics, requires long-form incident reports as a way to root out staged accidents, updates the bill-payment system and gives hospitals priority standing in personal injury protection claims. It does not cap attorneys' fees.
The Florida Consumer Action Network -- joined by the Florida Medical Association, Florida Justice Association, Florida Chiropractic Association, Florida Osteopathic Medical Association, Florida Public Interest Research Group, and Florida CHAIN -- remains behind the Senate bill, which would also impose a $5,000 fine and jail time in fraud cases and would target the licenses of medical professionals involved in them.
We need to go after the folks who are doing the staged accidents, catch them, prosecute them, and put them in jail, said Paul Jess of the Florida Justice Association during a media conference Thursday in the Capitol Cabinet meeting room.
The House bill is an insurance-industry wish list that simply limits coverage and prevents injured people and their health-care providers and their doctors from being able to collect legitimate claims.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
