House Bill 0377e1

                                        CS/HB 377, First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to organ transplants; amending

  3         s. 381.0602, F.S.; increasing membership of the

  4         Organ Transplant Advisory Council; increasing

  5         the term of the council chair; amending s.

  6         627.4236, F.S.; requiring that coverage for

  7         bone-marrow-transplant procedures include costs

  8         of the donor patient; providing a limitation;

  9         providing a legislative finding of an important

10         state interest; providing an effective date.

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

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14         Section 1.  Subsections (1) and (4) of section

15  381.0602, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

16         381.0602  Organ Transplant Advisory Council;

17  membership; responsibilities.--

18         (1)  There is hereby created within the Agency for

19  Health Care Administration a statewide technical Organ

20  Transplant Advisory Council consisting of twelve eight members

21  to represent the interests of the public and the clients of

22  the Department of Health or the agency. The members shall be

23  physicians licensed according to chapter 458 or chapter 459. A

24  person employed by the agency may not be appointed as a member

25  of the council.

26         (4)  The members of the council shall elect a

27  chairperson. The term of the chairperson shall be for 2 years

28  1 year, and an individual may not serve as chairperson for

29  more than two consecutive terms.

30         Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 627.4236, Florida

31  Statutes, is amended to read:


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






                                        CS/HB 377, First Engrossed



  1         627.4236  Coverage for bone marrow transplant

  2  procedures.--

  3         (2)  An insurer or a health maintenance organization

  4  may not exclude coverage for bone marrow transplant procedures

  5  recommended by the referring physician and the treating

  6  physician under a policy exclusion for experimental, clinical

  7  investigative, educational, or similar procedures contained in

  8  any individual or group health insurance policy or health

  9  maintenance organization contract issued, amended, delivered,

10  or renewed in this state that covers treatment for cancer, if

11  the particular use of the bone marrow transplant procedure is

12  determined to be accepted within the appropriate oncological

13  specialty and not experimental pursuant to subsection (3).

14  Covered bone-marrow-transplant procedures must include costs

15  associated with the donor-patient to the same extent and

16  limitations as costs associated with the insured, except the

17  reasonable costs of searching for the donor may be limited to

18  immediate family members and the National Bone Marrow Donor

19  Program.

20         Section 3.  The Legislature finds that the provisions

21  of this act fulfill an important state interest.

22         Section 4.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2000.

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