HB 911

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to state universities; amending s.
3	1004.24, F.S.; transferring responsibility for securing
4	liability insurance from the State Board of Education to
5	the Board of Governors; authorizing discussion of patient
6	care information for certain purposes; amending ss.
7	1004.43 and 1004.445, F.S.; conforming provisions;
8	amending s. 1012.965, F.S.; authorizing a university board
9	of trustees to intervene in a civil action for medical
10	negligence under certain circumstances; providing legal
11	status of employees and agents of a university board of
12	trustees and university faculty practice plan entities;
13	providing an effective date.
14
15	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17	Section 1.  Section 1004.24, Florida Statutes, is amended
18	to read:
19	1004.24  Board of Governors State Board of Education
20	authorized to secure liability insurance.--
21	(1)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education is
22	authorized to secure, or otherwise provide as a self-insurer, or
23	by a combination thereof, comprehensive general liability
24	insurance, including professional liability for health care and
25	veterinary sciences, for:
26	(a)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education and
27	its officers and members.
28	(b)  A university board of trustees and its officers and
29	members.
30	(c)  The faculty and other employees and agents of a
31	university board of trustees.
32	(d)  The students of a state university.
33	(e)  A state university or any college, school, institute,
34	center, or program thereof.
35	(f)  Any not-for-profit corporation organized pursuant to
36	chapter 617, and the directors, officers, employees, and agents
37	thereof, which is affiliated with a state university, if the
38	corporation is operated for the benefit of the state university
39	in a manner consistent with the best interests of the state, and
40	if such participation is approved by a self-insurance program
41	council, the university president, and the board of trustees.
42	(2)  In the event the Board of Governors State Board of
43	Education adopts a self-insurance program, a governing council
44	chaired by the vice president for health affairs or his or her
45	academic equivalent shall be established to administer the
46	program and its duties and responsibilities, including the
47	administration of self-insurance program assets and expenditure
48	policies, which shall be defined by in rules adopted by the
49	Board of Governors as authorized by this section. The council
50	shall have an annual actuary review performed to establish
51	funding requirements to maintain the fiscal integrity of the
52	self-insurance program. The assets of a self-insurance program
53	shall be deposited outside the State Treasury and shall be
54	administered in accordance with rules as authorized by this
55	section.
56	(3)  Any self-insurance program created under this section
57	shall be funded by the entities and individuals protected by
58	such program. There shall be no funds appropriated to any self-
59	insurance program. The assets of the self-insurance program
60	shall be the property of the Board of Governors State Board of
61	Education and shall be used only to pay the administrative
62	expenses of the self-insurance program and to pay any claim,
63	judgment, or claims bill arising out of activities for which the
64	self-insurance program was created. Investment income that is in
65	excess of that income necessary to ensure the solvency of a
66	self-insurance program as established by a casualty actuary may
67	be used to defray the annual contribution paid into the program
68	by the entities and individuals protected by the program.
69	(4)  No self-insurance program adopted by the Board of
70	Governors State Board of Education may sue or be sued. The
71	claims files of any such program are privileged and
72	confidential, exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1), and
73	are only for the use of the program in fulfilling its duties.
74	Physicians, health care providers, and other agents or employees
75	of participants in a self-insurance program, as described in
76	this section, are authorized to discuss patient care information
77	for the purposes of quality improvement, incident investigation,
78	and claim defense with self-insurance program council members,
79	staff, and attorneys retained by the self-insurance program, and
80	such communications do not constitute a violation of any statute
81	or rule relating to patient privacy or confidentiality. Any
82	self-insurance trust fund and revenues generated by that fund
83	shall only be used to pay claims and administration expenses.
84	(5)  Each self-insurance program council shall make
85	provision for an annual financial audit pursuant to s. 11.45 of
86	its accounts to be conducted by an independent certified public
87	accountant. The annual audit report must include a management
88	letter and shall be submitted to the Board of Governors State
89	Board of Education for review. The Board of Governors State
90	Board of Education shall have the authority to require and
91	receive from the self-insurance program council or from its
92	independent auditor any detail or supplemental data relative to
93	the operation of the self-insurance program.
94	(6)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education may
95	adopt make such rules as are necessary to carry out the
96	provisions of this section.
97	Section 2.  Subsection (3) of section 1004.43, Florida
98	Statutes, is amended to read:
99	1004.43  H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research
100	Institute.--There is established the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer
101	Center and Research Institute at the University of South
102	Florida.
103	(3)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education is
104	authorized to secure comprehensive general liability protection,
105	including professional liability protection, for the not-for-
106	profit corporation and its subsidiaries pursuant to s. 1004.24.
107	The not-for-profit corporation and its subsidiaries shall be
108	exempt from any participation in any property insurance trust
109	fund established by law, including any property insurance trust
110	fund established pursuant to chapter 284, so long as the not-
111	for-profit corporation and its subsidiaries maintain property
112	insurance protection with comparable or greater coverage limits.
113	Section 3.  Subsection (4) of section 1004.445, Florida
114	Statutes, is amended to read:
115	1004.445  Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr., Alzheimer's Center and
116	Research Institute.--
117	(4)  The Board of Governors State Board of Education is
118	authorized to secure comprehensive general liability protection,
119	including professional liability protection, for the not-for-
120	profit corporation and its subsidiaries, pursuant to s. 1004.24.
121	The not-for-profit corporation and its subsidiaries shall be
122	exempt from any participation in any property insurance trust
123	fund established by law, including any property insurance trust
124	fund established pursuant to chapter 284, so long as the not-
125	for-profit corporation and its subsidiaries maintain property
126	insurance protection with comparable or greater coverage limits.
127	Section 4.  Section 1012.965, Florida Statutes, is amended
128	to read:
129	1012.965  Payment of costs of civil action against
130	employees; legal status of employees and agents of university
131	board of trustees and university faculty practice plan
132	entities.--
133	(1)  An employee or agent under the right of control of a
134	university board of trustees who, pursuant to the university
135	board's policies or rules, renders medical care or treatment at
136	any hospital or health care facility with which the university
137	board maintains an affiliation agreement whereby the hospital or
138	health care facility provides to the university board a clinical
139	setting for health care education, research, and services, shall
140	not be deemed to be an agent of any person other than the
141	university board in any civil action resulting from any act or
142	omission of the employee or agent while rendering said medical
143	care or treatment. For this subsection to apply, the patient
144	shall be provided separate written conspicuous notice by the
145	university board of trustees or by the hospital or health care
146	facility, and shall acknowledge receipt of this notice, in
147	writing, unless impractical by reason of an emergency, either
148	personally or through another person authorized to give consent
149	for him or her, that he or she will receive care provided by
150	university board's employees and liability, if any, that may
151	arise from that care is limited as provided by law. Compliance
152	by a hospital or health care facility with the requirements of
153	chapter 395 or s. 766.110(1) shall not be used as evidence in
154	any civil action to establish an employment or agency
155	relationship between the hospital or health care facility and an
156	employee or agent of the university board of trustees providing
157	services within the hospital or health care facility.
158	(2)  A university board of trustees shall have the
159	unconditional right and shall be permitted to intervene in any
160	civil action for medical negligence filed against an affiliated
161	hospital or health care facility when an employee or agent of a
162	university board of trustees delivered care at such affiliated
163	hospital or health care facility to the patient whose care is at
164	issue in the civil action. A university's assertion that an
165	employee or agent of the university board of trustees is or was
166	its agent is conclusive for purposes of the motion to intervene.
167	(3)  A university's faculty practice plan entities function
168	as the university's agents for the orderly collection and
169	administration of income generated from university faculty
170	practice activities as part of the university board's provision
171	for a clinical setting for health care education, research, and
172	services, subject to control by the university board and its
173	rules. A university's faculty practice plan entities are not and
174	shall not be providers of medical services or the employers of
175	any faculty physicians or other health care professionals and do
176	not have, and shall not be deemed or construed to have, a
177	partnership, joint venture, association, employment, or agency
178	relationship with any university faculty physicians or other
179	health care professionals.
180	(4)(2)  All faculty physicians employed by a university
181	board of trustees who are subject to the requirements of s.
182	456.013 shall complete their risk management continuing
183	education on issues specific to academic medicine. Such
184	continuing education shall include instruction for the
185	supervision of resident physicians as required by the
186	Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The boards
187	described in s. 456.013 shall adopt rules to implement the
188	provisions of this subsection.
189	(5)(3)  There are appropriated out of any funds available
190	to a university, not subject to the obligation of contract,
191	covenant, or trust, the amounts necessary to carry out the
192	purposes of this section.
193	(6)(4)  Failure of a university board of trustees or an
194	affiliated health care provider to do any act authorized by this
195	section shall not constitute a cause of action against the
196	university board, or an affiliated health care provider, or any
197	of their members, officers, or employees.
198	Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

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