CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 1673c1
Florida House of Representatives - 1997 CS/HB 1673
By the Committee on Civil Justice & Claims and
Representatives Reddick, Sindler, Bloom, Feeney, Trovillion
and Logan
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to teaching hospitals; creating
3 s. 766.1116, F.S.; providing legislative
4 findings and intent with respect to protection
5 through sovereign immunity of teaching
6 hospitals; providing definitions; providing for
7 a "governmental contractor," defined as the
8 Department of Health or the Agency for Health
9 Care Administration, to contract for delivery
10 by a teaching hospital of charity health
11 services and medical education services;
12 providing that a teaching hospital, while
13 acting within the scope of duties pursuant to
14 such contract, is an agent for purposes of
15 specified provisions relating to sovereign
16 immunity or waiver thereof; providing for
17 nonliability of the teaching hospital or its
18 officers, employees, or agents with respect to
19 certain actions; requiring inclusion of
20 specified provisions and guidelines in such
21 contract; requiring the governmental contractor
22 to enter into nonexclusive contracts for
23 provision of the charity health services or
24 medical education health care services and to
25 establish certain quality assurance programs;
26 requiring certain notice to patients by the
27 contracting teaching hospital with respect to
28 its agent status and applicable limitations
29 upon remedies for injury or damage; providing
30 for applicability; providing an effective date.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1997 CS/HB 1673
686-114-97
1 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
2
3 Section 1. Section 766.1116, Florida Statutes, is
4 created to read:
5 766.1116 Teaching hospitals; provision of charity
6 health care services and medical education health care
7 services.--
8 (1) The Legislature finds that teaching hospitals
9 provide access to health care to a significant number of
10 indigent, uninsured residents of this state, that teaching
11 hospitals provide benefits to the people of this state through
12 their medical education programs, that these benefits are at
13 significant risk because teaching hospitals fear the increased
14 risk of medical malpractice liability, and that the continued
15 viability of teaching hospitals must be protected for the
16 purposes of providing charity health care services and medical
17 education health care services. It is, therefore, the intent
18 of the Legislature to provide requirements for teaching
19 hospitals to become agents of the state and to ensure that
20 teaching hospitals satisfying these requirements are protected
21 by sovereign immunity, pursuant to this section.
22 (2) As used in this section, the term:
23 (a) "Contract" means an agreement executed in
24 compliance with this section between a teaching hospital and a
25 governmental contractor. This contract shall allow a teaching
26 hospital to deliver charity health care services and medical
27 education health care services to patients as an agent of the
28 governmental contractor.
29 (b) "Governmental contractor" means the Department of
30 Health or the Agency for Health Care Administration.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1997 CS/HB 1673
686-114-97
1 (c) "Charity health care services" means health care
2 services provided to low-income persons.
3 (d) "Low-income" has the same meaning as in s.
4 766.1115(3)(e).
5 (e) "Medical education health care services" means all
6 health care services provided to a person at a teaching
7 hospital who is under the care of physicians who are medical
8 residents at the teaching hospital or under the care of
9 physicians on the medical education staff of the teaching
10 hospital.
11 (f) "Teaching hospital" has the same meaning as in s.
12 408.07(49).
13 (3)(a) A teaching hospital that executes a contract
14 with a governmental contractor to deliver charity health care
15 services and medical education services as an agent of the
16 governmental contractor is an agent for purposes of s.
17 768.28(9), while acting within the scope of duties pursuant to
18 the contract, if the contract complies with the requirements
19 of this section. Neither a teaching hospital under contract
20 with a governmental contractor nor the officers, employees, or
21 agents of the teaching hospital may be named as a defendant in
22 any action arising out of charity health care services or
23 medical education health care services which are provided on
24 or after the effective date of this section, pursuant to
25 contracts entered under this section.
26 (b) The contract shall:
27 1. Contain provisions that satisfy the requirements of
28 s. 766.1115(4)(a), (b), (c), (e), and (g);
29 2. Require that the teaching hospital shall defend
30 against, on behalf of the governmental contractor, and shall
31 be responsible for its own litigation costs and attorney's
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Florida House of Representatives - 1997 CS/HB 1673
686-114-97
1 fees for, any malpractice litigation arising out of health
2 care services delivered pursuant to this section;
3 3. Provide for the indemnification of the state by the
4 teaching hospital for any liabilities incurred up to the
5 limits established in s. 768.28; and
6 4. Specify the level of charity care the teaching
7 hospital must provide.
8 (4) A governmental contractor shall enter into
9 nonexclusive contracts with teaching hospitals for the
10 provision of charity health care services and medical
11 education health care service under which a teaching hospital
12 shall be an agent of the state. Any such contract shall
13 prescribe the scope of and guidelines for the charity health
14 care services and medical education health care services to be
15 provided pursuant to the contract. The governmental contractor
16 shall establish a quality assurance program to monitor
17 services delivered under any contract between the governmental
18 contractor and the teaching hospital pursuant to this section.
19 (5) Notice of agency relationship.--The teaching
20 hospital must provide written notice to each patient, or the
21 patient's legal representative, that the teaching hospital is
22 an agent of the governmental contractor for the provision of
23 charity health care services and medical education health care
24 services and that the exclusive remedy for injury or damage
25 suffered as the result of any act or omission of the provider
26 or of any employee or agent thereof acting within the scope of
27 duties pursuant to the contract is by commencement of an
28 action pursuant to the provisions of s. 768.28.
29 (6) This section applies to incidents occurring on or
30 after the effective date of this section.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1997 CS/HB 1673
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1 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
2 law.
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5 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Declares legislative intent to ensure that certain
7 teaching hospitals are protected by sovereign immunity.
Provides for the Department of Health or the Agency for
8 Health Care Administration as a "governmental contractor"
to contract with a teaching hospital under which the
9 teaching hospital is permitted to deliver charity health
services and medical education services as an agent of
10 the governmental contractor. Provides that a teaching
hospital, while acting within the scope of duties
11 pursuant to such contract, is an agent for purposes of
specified provisions relating to sovereign immunity or
12 waiver thereof applicable to officers, employees, or
agents of the state or its subdivisions. Provides for
13 nonliability of the teaching hospital or its officers,
employees, or agents with respect to actions arising out
14 of charity health services or medical education health
care services provided pursuant to such contract.
15 Requires inclusion of specified provisions and guidelines
in the contract. Requires the governmental contractor to
16 enter nonexclusive contracts with teaching hospitals for
provision of such services and to establish certain
17 quality assurance programs. Requires certain notice to
patients by the contracting teaching hospital with
18 respect to its status as an agent of the governmental
contractor and applicable limitations upon remedies for
19 injury or damage.
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