HB 1639

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to sovereign immunity; providing legislative
3	findings and intent; amending s. 766.1115, F.S.; specifying
4	nonapplicability to certain affiliation agreements or contracts
5	to provide certain comprehensive health care services protected
6	by sovereign immunity; amending s. 768.28, F.S.; expanding a
7	definition to include certain health care providers; including
8	under sovereign immunity protection provisions certain colleges,
9	universities, and medical schools providing comprehensive health
10	care services to patients at public hospitals under certain
11	circumstances; providing definitions; providing an exception;
12	specifying that certain records held by a medical school are
13	public records subject to certain public records requirements;
14	providing an effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1.  Legislative findings and intent.--
19	(1)  The Legislature finds that access to quality,
20	affordable health care for all residents of this state is a
21	necessary goal for the state and that public hospitals play an
22	essential role in providing access to comprehensive health care
23	services.
24	(2)  The Legislature further finds that access to quality
25	health care at public hospitals is enhanced when public
26	hospitals affiliate and coordinate their common endeavors with
27	medical schools. These affiliations have proven to be an
28	integral part of the delivery of more efficient and economical
29	health care services to patients of public hospitals by offering
30	quality graduate medical education programs to resident
31	physicians who provide patient services at public hospitals.
32	These affiliations ensure continued access to quality
33	comprehensive health care services for residents of this state
34	and therefore should be encouraged in order to maintain and
35	expand such services.
36	(3)  The Legislature finds that when medical schools
37	affiliate or enter into contracts with public hospitals to
38	provide comprehensive health care services to patients of public
39	hospitals, they greatly increase their exposure to claims
40	arising out of alleged medical malpractice and other allegedly
41	negligent acts because some colleges and universities and their
42	medical schools and employees do not have the same level of
43	protection against liability claims as governmental entities and
44	their public employees providing the same patient services to
45	the same public hospital patients.
46	(4)  The Legislature finds that the high cost of
47	litigation, unequal liability exposure, and increased medical
48	malpractice insurance premiums have adversely impacted the
49	ability of some medical schools to permit their employees to
50	provide patient services to patients of public hospitals. This
51	finding is consistent with the report issued in April 2002 by
52	the American Medical Association declaring this state to be one
53	of 12 states in the midst of a medical liability insurance
54	crisis. The crisis in the availability and affordability of
55	medical malpractice insurance is a contributing factor in the
56	reduction of access to quality health care in this state. In the
57	past 15 years, the number of public hospitals in this state has
58	declined significantly. In 1988, 33 hospitals were owned or
59	operated by the state and local governments or established as
60	taxing districts. In 1991, that number dropped to 28. In 2001,
61	only 18 remained, 7 of these concentrated in 1 county. Thus, 11
62	public hospitals serve the other 66 counties of this state. If
63	no corrective action is taken, this health care crisis will lead
64	to a continued reduction of patient services in public
65	hospitals.
66	(5)  The Legislature finds that the public is better served
67	and will benefit from corrective action to address the foregoing
68	concerns. It is imperative that the Legislature further the
69	public benefit by conferring sovereign immunity upon colleges
70	and universities, their medical schools, and their employees
71	when, pursuant to an affiliation agreement or a contract to
72	provide comprehensive health care services, they provide patient
73	services to patients of public hospitals.
74	(6)  It is the intent of the Legislature that colleges and
75	universities that affiliate with public hospitals be granted
76	sovereign immunity protection under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes,
77	in the same manner and to the same extent as the state and its
78	agencies and political subdivisions. It is also the intent of
79	the Legislature that employees of colleges and universities who
80	provide patient services to patients of a public hospital be
81	immune from lawsuits in the same manner and to the same extent
82	as employees and agents of the state and its agencies and
83	political subdivisions and, further, that they shall not be held
84	personally liable in tort or named as a party defendant in an
85	action while performing patient services except as provided in
86	s. 768.28(9)(a), Florida Statutes.
87	Section 2.  Subsection (11) of section 766.1115, Florida
88	Statutes, is amended to read:
89	766.1115  Health care providers; creation of agency
90	relationship with governmental contractors.--
91	(11)  APPLICABILITY.--This section applies to incidents
92	occurring on or after April 17, 1992. This section does not
93	apply to any health care contract entered into by the Department
94	of Corrections which is subject to s. 768.28(10)(a). This
95	section does not apply to any affiliation agreement or contract
96	entered into by a medical school to provide comprehensive health
97	care services to patients at public hospitals which is subject
98	to s. 768.28(10)(f). Nothing in this section in any way reduces
99	or limits the rights of the state or any of its agencies or
100	subdivisions to any benefit currently provided under s. 768.28.
101	Section 3.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of section
102	768.28, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (f) is added
103	to subsection (10) of said section, to read:
104	768.28  Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions;
105	recovery limits; limitation on attorney fees; statute of
106	limitations; exclusions; indemnification; risk management
107	programs.--
108	(9)
109	(b)  As used in this subsection, the term:
110	1.  "Employee" includes any volunteer firefighter.
111	2.  "Officer, employee, or agent" includes, but is not
112	limited to:
113	a.,  Any health care provider when providing services
114	pursuant to s. 766.1115.
115	b.,  Any member of the Florida Health Services Corps, as
116	defined in s. 381.0302, who provides uncompensated care to
117	medically indigent persons referred by the Department of Health.
118	c., and Any public defender or her or his employee or
119	agent, including, among others, an assistant public defender and
120	an investigator.
121	d.(I)  Any college or university or its medical school,
122	acting within the scope of delivering patient services, that
123	enters into an affiliation agreement or a contract to allow its
124	employees to provide comprehensive health care services to
125	patients treated at public statutory teaching hospitals, any
126	other health care facilities owned or used by a governmental
127	entity, or other locations under contract with the governmental
128	entity to provide comprehensive health care services to public
129	hospital patients pursuant to paragraph (10)(f).
130	(II)  Any faculty member or other health care professional,
131	practitioner, or ancillary caregiver or employee of a college or
132	university or its medical school that enters into an affiliation
133	agreement or a contract to provide comprehensive health care
134	services with a public hospital or its governmental owner and
135	who provides such services to patients of public hospitals
136	pursuant to paragraph (10)(f).
137	(10)
138	(f)1.  Any not-for-profit college or university with a
139	medical school or any other academic programs of medical
140	education accredited by any association, agency, council,
141	commission, or accrediting body recognized by this state as a
142	condition for licensure of its graduates, hereinafter
143	collectively referred to as "medical school," that has entered
144	into an affiliation agreement or a contract to allow its
145	faculty, health care professionals, practitioners, and ancillary
146	caregivers and employees, hereinafter referred to as
147	"employees," to provide patient services to patients treated at
148	a public hospital, together with the employees of such medical
149	school, shall be deemed agents of the governmental entity for
150	purposes of this section and shall be immune from liability for
151	torts in the same manner and to the same extent as the state and
152	its agencies and subdivisions while providing patient services
153	at such public hospital.
154	2.  For purposes of this paragraph, the term:
155	a.  "Patient services" means:
156	(I)  Any comprehensive health care services, as defined in
157	s. 641.19(4), to patients of a public hospital.
158	(II)  Supervision of interns, residents, and fellows
159	providing any patient services to patients of a public hospital.
160	(III)  Access to participation in medical research
161	protocols.
162	b.  "Public hospital" means a statutory teaching hospital
163	and any other health care facility owned or used by the state, a
164	county, a municipality, a public authority, a special taxing
165	district with health care responsibilities, or any other local
166	governmental entity, or at any location under contract with the
167	governmental entity.
168	3.  No such employee or agent of such colleges or
169	universities or their medical schools shall be personally liable
170	in tort or named as a party defendant in any action arising from
171	the provision of any patient services to patients of a public
172	hospital, except as provided in paragraph (9)(a).
173	4.  All records relating to the contractual relationship
174	between such medical school and a public hospital, held by that
175	medical school, are public records subject to s. 24(a), Art. I
176	of the State Constitution and s. 119.07(1).
177	Section 4.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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