Florida Senate - 2012                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for HB 787
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 445626                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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               Floor: 1a/AD/3R         .            Floor: C            
             03/09/2012 07:52 PM       .      03/10/2012 12:02 AM       
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       Senator Garcia moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (109490) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 4 and 5
    5  insert:
    6         Section 1. Subsection (30) of section 395.002, Florida
    7  Statutes, is amended to read:
    8         395.002 Definitions.—As used in this chapter:
    9         (30) “Urgent care center” means a facility or clinic that
   10  provides immediate but not emergent ambulatory medical care to
   11  patients with or without an appointment. The term includes an
   12  offsite It does not include the emergency department of a
   13  hospital that is presented to the general public in any manner
   14  as a department where immediate and not only emergent medical
   15  care is provided. The term also includes:
   16         (a) An offsite facility of a facility licensed under
   17  chapter 395, or a joint venture between a facility licensed
   18  under chapter 395 and a provider licensed under chapter 458 or
   19  chapter 459, that does not require a patient to make an
   20  appointment and is presented to the general public in any manner
   21  as a facility where immediate but not emergent medical care is
   22  provided.
   23         (b) A clinic organization that is licensed under part X of
   24  chapter 400, maintains three or more locations using the same or
   25  a similar name, does not require a patient to make an
   26  appointment, and holds itself out to the general public in any
   27  manner as a facility or clinic where immediate but not emergent
   28  medical care is provided.
   29         Section 2. Section 395.107, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   30  read:
   31         395.107 Urgent care centers; publishing and posting
   32  schedule of charges; penalties.—
   33         (1) An urgent care center must publish and post a schedule
   34  of charges for the medical services offered to patients.
   35         (2)The schedule of charges must describe the medical
   36  services in language comprehensible to a layperson. The schedule
   37  must include the prices charged to an uninsured person paying
   38  for such services by cash, check, credit card, or debit card.
   39  The schedule must be posted in a conspicuous place in the
   40  reception area of the urgent care center and must include, but
   41  is not limited to, the 50 services most frequently provided by
   42  the urgent care center. The schedule may group services by three
   43  price levels, listing services in each price level. The posting
   44  may be a sign, which must be at least 15 square feet in size, or
   45  may be through an electronic messaging board. If an urgent care
   46  center is affiliated with a facility licensed under this
   47  chapter, the schedule must include text that notifies the
   48  insured patients whether the charges for medical services
   49  received at the center will be the same as, or more than,
   50  charges for medical services received at the affiliated
   51  hospital. The text notifying the patient of the schedule of
   52  charges shall be in a font size equal to or greater than the
   53  font size used for prices and must be in a contrasting color.
   54  The text that notifies the insured patients whether the charges
   55  for medical services received at the center will be the same as,
   56  or more than, charges for medical services received at the
   57  affiliated hospital shall be included in all media and Internet
   58  advertisements for the center and in language comprehensible to
   59  a layperson.
   60         (3) The posted text describing the medical services must
   61  fill at least 12 square feet of the posting. A center may use an
   62  electronic device or messaging board to post the schedule of
   63  charges. Such a device must be at least 3 square feet and
   64  patients must be able to access the schedule during all hours of
   65  operation of the urgent care center.
   66         (4) An urgent care center that is operated and used
   67  exclusively for employees and the dependents of employees of the
   68  business that owns or contracts for the urgent care center is
   69  exempt from this section.
   70         (5) The failure of an urgent care center to publish and
   71  post a schedule of charges as required by this section shall
   72  result in a fine of not more than $1,000, per day, until the
   73  schedule is published and posted.
   74         Section 3. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section
   75  400.9935, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   76         400.9935 Clinic responsibilities.—
   77         (1) Each clinic shall appoint a medical director or clinic
   78  director who shall agree in writing to accept legal
   79  responsibility for the following activities on behalf of the
   80  clinic. The medical director or the clinic director shall:
   81         (i) Ensure that the clinic publishes a schedule of charges
   82  for the medical services offered to patients. The schedule must
   83  include the prices charged to an uninsured person paying for
   84  such services by cash, check, credit card, or debit card. The
   85  schedule must be posted in a conspicuous place in the reception
   86  area of the urgent care center and must include, but is not
   87  limited to, the 50 services most frequently provided by the
   88  clinic. The schedule may group services by three price levels,
   89  listing services in each price level. The posting may be a sign
   90  that must be at least 15 square feet in size or through an
   91  electronic messaging board that is at least 3 square feet in
   92  size. The failure of a clinic to publish and post a schedule of
   93  charges as required by this section shall result in a fine of
   94  not more than $1,000, per day, until the schedule is published
   95  and posted.
   96  
   97  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   98         And the title is amended as follows:
   99         Delete line 1149
  100  and insert:
  101         An act relating to health care facilities; amending s.
  102         395.002, F.S.; revising a definition of the term
  103         “urgent care” as it relates to the regulation of
  104         hospitals and other licensed facilities; amending s.
  105         395.107, F.S.; requiring that a urgent care center
  106         publish a post a schedule of charges; providing
  107         requirements for the schedule; amending s. 400.9935,
  108         F.S.; adding additional responsibilities of medical
  109         and clinic directors with respect to the posting of a
  110         schedule of charges for services; amending s.