House Bill 0295e2

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                                          HB 295, Second Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to insurance; amending s.

  3         627.739, F.S.; relating to personal injury

  4         protection; authorizing insured certain

  5         multiple deductible elections; requiring

  6         certain premium reductions; providing

  7         requirements for offers of certain limitations;

  8         providing for unenforceability against certain

  9         persons or entities of charges for certain

10         services under certain circumstances; providing

11         a definition; providing a limitation; providing

12         an exception; providing an effective date.

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14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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16         Section 1.  Section 627.739, Florida Statutes, is

17  amended to read:

18         627.739  Personal injury protection; optional

19  limitations; deductibles.--

20         (1)  The named insured may elect a deductible to apply

21  to the named insured alone or to the named insured and

22  dependent relatives residing in the same household, but may

23  not elect a deductible to apply to any other person covered

24  under the policy. Any person electing a deductible or modified

25  coverage, or any combination of deductible or modified

26  coverage, or subject to such deductible or modified coverage

27  as a result of the named insured's election, shall have no

28  right to claim or to recover any amount so deducted from any

29  owner, registrant, operator, or occupant of a vehicle or any

30  person or organization legally responsible for any such

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






                                          HB 295, Second Engrossed



  1  person's acts or omissions who is made exempt from tort

  2  liability by ss. 627.730-627.7405.

  3         (2)  Insurers shall offer to each applicant and to each

  4  policyholder, upon the renewal of an existing policy,

  5  deductibles, in amounts of $250, $500, $1,000, and $2,000,

  6  such amount to be deducted from the benefits otherwise due

  7  each person subject to the deduction.  However, this

  8  subsection shall not be applied to reduce the amount of any

  9  benefits received in accordance with s. 627.736(1)(c).

10         (3)  Insurers shall offer coverage wherein, at the

11  election of the named insured, all benefits payable under 42

12  U.S.C. s. 1395, the federal "Medicare" program, or to active

13  or retired military personnel and their dependent relatives

14  shall be deducted from those benefits otherwise payable

15  pursuant to s. 627.736(1).

16         (4)  Insurers shall offer coverage wherein, at the

17  election of the named insured, the benefits for loss of gross

18  income and loss of earning capacity described in s.

19  627.736(1)(b) shall be excluded.

20         (5)  Insureds shall not be prevented from electing two

21  or more such optional limitations.  Each election made by the

22  named insured pursuant to this section shall result in an

23  appropriate reduction of premium associated with that

24  election.

25         (6)  All such offers shall be made in a clear and

26  unambiguous manner, at the time the initial application is

27  taken and prior to each renewal and shall indicate that a

28  premium reduction will result from each election.

29         Section 2.  Charges for magnetic resonance imaging

30  (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scan services shall be

31  unenforceable against the recipient of such services, an


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                                          HB 295, Second Engrossed



  1  insurer, a third-party payor, and any other person or entity

  2  unless such charges are billed and collected by the

  3  100-percent owner or the 100-percent lessee of the equipment

  4  used to perform such services. Such owner or lessee may be an

  5  individual, a corporation, a partnership, or any other entity

  6  and any of its 100-percent-owned affiliates and subsidiaries.

  7  For purposes of this section, "lessee" means a long-term

  8  lessee under a capital or operating lease but does not include

  9  a part-time lessee. This section does not preclude billing and

10  collection by a hospital, a hospital or physician management

11  company whose MRI or CT scan services are ancillary to the

12  practices managed, a debt collection agency, or an entity that

13  has contracted with an insurer or third-party payor to obtain

14  a discounted rate for such services provided such entity does

15  not retain for its services more than 25 percent of the amount

16  remitted to such owner or lessee.

17         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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