SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 2-B
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 892196
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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06/18/2003 05:06 PM .
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11 Senator Saunders moved the following amendment:
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13 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
14 On page 138, line 25-29, delete those lines
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16 and insert:
17 Section 65. Legislative findings and intent.--The
18 Legislature finds and declares it to be of vital importance
19 that emergency services and care be provided by hospitals,
20 physicians, and emergency medical services providers to every
21 person in need of such care. The Legislature finds that
22 emergency services and care providers are critical elements in
23 responding to disaster and emergency situations that might
24 affect our local communities, state, and country. The
25 Legislature recognizes the importance of maintaining a viable
26 system of providing for the emergency medical needs of the
27 state's residents and visitors. The Legislature and the
28 Federal Government have required such providers of emergency
29 medical services and care to provide emergency services and
30 care to all persons who present to hospitals seeking such
31 care. The Legislature finds that the Legislature has further
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 2-B
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 892196
1 mandated that prehospital emergency medical treatment or
2 transport may not be denied by emergency medical services
3 providers to persons who have or are likely to have an
4 emergency medical condition. Such governmental requirements
5 have imposed a unilateral obligation for emergency services
6 and care providers to provide services to all persons seeking
7 emergency care without ensuring payment or other consideration
8 for provision of such care. The Legislature also recognizes
9 that emergency services and care providers provide a
10 significant amount of uncompensated emergency medical care in
11 furtherance of such governmental interest. The Legislature
12 finds that a significant proportion of the residents of this
13 state who are uninsured or are Medicaid or Medicare recipients
14 are unable to access needed health care because health care
15 providers fear the increased risk of medical malpractice
16 liability. The Legislature finds that such patients, in order
17 to obtain medical care, are frequently forced to seek care
18 through providers of emergency medical services and care. The
19 Legislature finds that providers of emergency medical services
20 and care in this state have reported significant problems with
21 both the availability and affordability of professional
22 liability coverage. The Legislature finds that medical
23 malpractice liability insurance premiums have increased
24 dramatically, and a number of insurers have ceased providing
25 medical malpractice insurance coverage for emergency medical
26 services and care in this state. This results in a functional
27 unavailability of medical malpractice insurance coverage for
28 some providers of emergency medical services and care. The
29 Legislature further finds that certain specialist physicians
30 have resigned from serving on hospital staffs or have
31 otherwise declined to provide on-call coverage to hospital
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 2-B
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 892196
1 emergency departments due to increased medical malpractice
2 liability exposure created by treating such emergency
3 department patients. It is the intent of the Legislature that
4 hospitals, emergency medical services providers, and
5 physicians be able to ensure that patients who might need
6 emergency medical services treatment or transportation or who
7 present to hospitals for emergency medical services and care
8 have access to such needed services.
9 Section 66. Subsection (2) of section 768.13, Florida
10 Statutes, is amended to read:
11 768.13 Good Samaritan Act; immunity from civil
12 liability.--
13 (2)(a) Any person, including those licensed to
14 practice medicine, who gratuitously and in good faith renders
15 emergency care or treatment either in direct response to
16 emergency situations related to and arising out of a public
17 health emergency declared pursuant to s. 381.00315, a state of
18 emergency which has been declared pursuant to s. 252.36 or at
19 the scene of an emergency outside of a hospital, doctor's
20 office, or other place having proper medical equipment,
21 without objection of the injured victim or victims thereof,
22 shall not be held liable for any civil damages as a result of
23 such care or treatment or as a result of any act or failure to
24 act in providing or arranging further medical treatment where
25 the person acts as an ordinary reasonably prudent person would
26 have acted under the same or similar circumstances.
27 (b)1. Any health care provider, including a hospital
28 licensed under chapter 395, providing emergency services
29 pursuant to obligations imposed by 42 U.S.C. s. 1395dd, s.
30 395.401, or s. 401.45 any employee of such hospital working in
31 a clinical area within the facility and providing patient
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 2-B
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 892196
1 care, and any person licensed to practice medicine who in good
2 faith renders medical care or treatment necessitated by a
3 sudden, unexpected situation or occurrence resulting in a
4 serious medical condition demanding immediate medical
5 attention, for which the patient enters the hospital through
6 its emergency room or trauma center, or necessitated by a
7 public health emergency declared pursuant to s. 381.00315
8 shall not be held liable for any civil damages as a result of
9 such medical care or treatment unless such damages result from
10 providing, or failing to provide, medical care or treatment
11 under circumstances demonstrating a reckless disregard for the
12 consequences so as to affect the life or health of another. A
13 health care provider under this paragraph does not include a
14 licensed health care practitioner who is providing emergency
15 services to a person with whom the practitioner has an
16 established provider-patient relationship outside of the
17 emergency room setting.
18 2. The immunity provided by this paragraph applies
19 does not apply to damages as a result of any act or omission
20 of providing medical care or treatment, including diagnosis:
21 a. Which occurs prior to the time after the patient is
22 stabilized and is capable of receiving medical treatment as a
23 nonemergency patient, unless surgery is required as a result
24 of the emergency within a reasonable time after the patient is
25 stabilized, in which case the immunity provided by this
26 paragraph applies to any act or omission of providing medical
27 care or treatment which occurs prior to the stabilization of
28 the patient following the surgery; and or
29 b. Related Unrelated to the original medical
30 emergency.
31 3. For purposes of this paragraph, "reckless
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Amendment No. ___ Barcode 892196
1 disregard" as it applies to a given health care provider
2 rendering emergency medical services shall be such conduct
3 that which a health care provider knew or should have known,
4 at the time such services were rendered, created an
5 unreasonable risk of injury so as to affect the life or health
6 of another, and such risk was substantially greater than that
7 which is necessary to make the conduct negligent. would be
8 likely to result in injury so as to affect the life or health
9 of another, taking into account the following to the extent
10 they may be present;
11 a. The extent or serious nature of the circumstances
12 prevailing.
13 b. The lack of time or ability to obtain appropriate
14 consultation.
15 c. The lack of a prior patient-physician relationship.
16 d. The inability to obtain an appropriate medical
17 history of the patient.
18 e. The time constraints imposed by coexisting
19 emergencies.
20 4. Every emergency care facility granted immunity
21 under this paragraph shall accept and treat all emergency care
22 patients within the operational capacity of such facility
23 without regard to ability to pay, including patients
24 transferred from another emergency care facility or other
25 health care provider pursuant to Pub. L. No. 99-272, s. 9121.
26 The failure of an emergency care facility to comply with this
27 subparagraph constitutes grounds for the department to
28 initiate disciplinary action against the facility pursuant to
29 chapter 395.
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 2-B
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 892196
1 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
2 And the title is amended as follows:
3 On page 15, line 7, after the semicolon,
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5 insert:
6 providing legislative intent and findings with
7 respect to the provision of emergency medical
8 services and care by care providers;
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