HB 1639

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to sovereign immunity; providing
3	legislative findings and intent; amending s. 766.1115,
4	F.S.; specifying nonapplicability to certain affiliation
5	agreements or contracts to provide certain comprehensive
6	health care services protected by sovereign immunity;
7	amending s. 768.28, F.S.; expanding a definition to
8	include certain health care providers; including under
9	sovereign immunity protection provisions certain colleges,
10	universities, and medical schools providing comprehensive
11	health care services to patients at public hospitals under
12	certain circumstances; providing definitions; providing an
13	exception; providing an effective date.
14
15	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17	Section 1.  Legislative findings and intent.--
18	(1)  The Legislature finds that access to quality,
19	affordable health care for all residents of this state is a
20	necessary goal for the state and that public hospitals play an
21	essential role in providing access to comprehensive health care
22	services.
23	(2)  The Legislature further finds that access to quality
24	health care at public hospitals is enhanced when public hospitals
25	affiliate and coordinate their common endeavors with medical
26	schools. These affiliations have proven to be an integral part of
27	the delivery of more efficient and economical health care
28	services to patients of public hospitals by offering quality
29	graduate medical education programs to resident physicians who
30	provide patient services at public hospitals. These affiliations
31	ensure continued access to quality comprehensive health care
32	services for residents of this state and therefore should be
33	encouraged in order to maintain and expand such services.
34	(3)  The Legislature finds that when medical schools
35	affiliate or enter into contracts with public hospitals to
36	provide comprehensive health care services to patients of public
37	hospitals, they greatly increase their exposure to claims arising
38	out of alleged medical malpractice and other allegedly negligent
39	acts because some colleges and universities and their medical
40	schools and employees do not have the same level of protection
41	against liability claims as governmental entities and their
42	public employees providing the same patient services to the same
43	public hospital patients.
44	(4)  The Legislature finds that the high cost of litigation,
45	unequal liability exposure, and increased medical malpractice
46	insurance premiums have adversely impacted the ability of some
47	medical schools to permit their employees to provide patient
48	services to patients of public hospitals. This finding is
49	consistent with the report issued in April 2002 by the American
50	Medical Association declaring this state to be one of 12 states
51	in the midst of a medical liability insurance crisis. The crisis
52	in the availability and affordability of medical malpractice
53	insurance is a contributing factor in the reduction of access to
54	quality health care in this state. In the past 15 years, the
55	number of public hospitals in this state has declined
56	significantly. In 1988, 33 hospitals were owned or operated by
57	the state and local governments or established as taxing
58	districts. In 1991, that number dropped to 28. In 2001, only 18
59	remained, 7 of these concentrated in 1 county. Thus, 11 public
60	hospitals serve the other 66 counties of this state. If no
61	corrective action is taken, this health care crisis will lead to
62	a continued reduction of patient services in public hospitals.
63	(5)  The Legislature finds that the public is better served
64	and will benefit from corrective action to address the foregoing
65	concerns. It is imperative that the Legislature further the
66	public benefit by conferring sovereign immunity upon colleges and
67	universities, their medical schools, and their employees when,
68	pursuant to an affiliation agreement or a contract to provide
69	comprehensive health care services, they provide patient services
70	to patients of public hospitals.
71	(6)  It is the intent of the Legislature that colleges and
72	universities that affiliate with public hospitals be granted
73	sovereign immunity protection under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes,
74	in the same manner and to the same extent as the state and its
75	agencies and political subdivisions. It is also the intent of the
76	Legislature that employees of colleges and universities who
77	provide patient services to patients of a public hospital be
78	immune from lawsuits in the same manner and to the same extent as
79	employees and agents of the state and its agencies and political
80	subdivisions and, further, that they shall not be held personally
81	liable in tort or named as a party defendant in an action while
82	performing patient services except as provided in s.
83	768.28(9)(a), Florida Statutes.
84	Section 2.  Subsection (11) of section 766.1115, Florida
85	Statutes, is amended to read:
86	766.1115  Health care providers; creation of agency
87	relationship with governmental contractors.--
88	(11)  APPLICABILITY.--This section applies to incidents
89	occurring on or after April 17, 1992. This section does not
90	apply to any health care contract entered into by the Department
91	of Corrections which is subject to s. 768.28(10)(a). This
92	section does not apply to any affiliation agreement or contract
93	entered into by a medical school to provide comprehensive health
94	care services to patients at public hospitals which is subject to
95	s. 768.28(10)(f). Nothing in this section in any way reduces or
96	limits the rights of the state or any of its agencies or
97	subdivisions to any benefit currently provided under s. 768.28.
98	Section 3.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of section
99	768.28, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (f) is added
100	to subsection (10) of said section, to read:
101	768.28  Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions;
102	recovery limits; limitation on attorney fees; statute of
103	limitations; exclusions; indemnification; risk management
104	programs.--
105	(9)
106	(b)  As used in this subsection, the term:
107	1.  "Employee" includes any volunteer firefighter.
108	2.  "Officer, employee, or agent" includes, but is not
109	limited to:
110	a.,  Any health care provider when providing services
111	pursuant to s. 766.1115.
112	b.,  Any member of the Florida Health Services Corps, as
113	defined in s. 381.0302, who provides uncompensated care to
114	medically indigent persons referred by the Department of Health.
115	c., and Any public defender or her or his employee or
116	agent, including, among others, an assistant public defender and
117	an investigator.
118	d.(I)  Any college or university or its medical school that
119	enters into an affiliation agreement or a contract to allow its
120	employees to provide comprehensive health care services to
121	patients treated at public statutory teaching hospitals, any
122	other health care facilities owned or used by a governmental
123	entity, or other locations under contract with the governmental
124	entity to provide comprehensive health care services to public
125	hospital patients pursuant to paragraph (10)(f).
126	(II)  Any faculty member or other health care professional,
127	practitioner, or ancillary caregiver or employee of a college or
128	university or its medical school that enters into an affiliation
129	agreement or a contract to provide comprehensive health care
130	services with a public hospital or its governmental owner and who
131	provides such services to patients of public hospitals pursuant
132	to paragraph (10)(f).
133	(10)
134	(f)1.  Any not-for-profit college or university with a
135	medical, dental, or nursing school, or any other academic
136	programs of medical education accredited by any association,
137	agency, council, commission, or accrediting body recognized by
138	this state as a condition for licensure of its graduates,
139	hereinafter collectively referred to as "medical school," that
140	has entered into an affiliation agreement or a contract to allow
141	its faculty, health care professionals, practitioners, and
142	ancillary caregivers and employees, hereinafter referred to as
143	"employees," to provide patient services to patients treated at a
144	public hospital, together with the employees of such medical
145	school, shall be deemed agents of the governmental entity for
146	purposes of this section and shall be immune from liability for
147	torts in the same manner and to the same extent as the state and
148	its agencies and subdivisions while providing patient services.
149	2.  For purposes of this paragraph, the term:
150	a.  "Patient services" means:
151	(I)  Any comprehensive health care services, as defined in
152	s. 641.19(4), including related administrative services to
153	patients of a public hospital.
154	(II)  Supervision of interns, residents, and fellows
155	providing any patient services to patients of a public hospital.
156	(III)  Access to participation in medical research
157	protocols.
158	b.  "Public hospital" means a statutory teaching hospital or
159	any other health care facility owned or used by the state, a
160	county, a municipality, a public authority, a special taxing
161	district with health care responsibilities, or any other local
162	governmental entity, or at any location under contract with the
163	governmental entity.
164	3.  No such employee or agent of such colleges or
165	universities or their medical schools shall be personally liable
166	in tort or named as a party defendant in any action arising from
167	the provision of any patient services to patients of a public
168	hospital, except as provided in paragraph (9)(a).
169	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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