Florida Senate - 2017                                     SB 326
       
       
        
       By Senator Steube
       
       23-00456-17                                            2017326__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to alternative treatment options for
    3         veterans; creating s. 295.156, F.S.; providing
    4         definitions; authorizing the Department of Veterans’
    5         Affairs to contract with certain individuals and
    6         entities to provide alternative treatment options for
    7         certain veterans; requiring direction and supervision
    8         by certain licensed providers; authorizing the
    9         department to adopt rules; providing an effective
   10         date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 295.156, Florida Statutes, is created to
   15  read:
   16         295.156 Alternative treatment options for veterans.—
   17         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   18         (a) “Accelerated resolution therapy” means a process that
   19  replaces negative images and sensations with positive ones, uses
   20  specific eye movements in conjunction with controlled
   21  verbalization about details of the prior traumatic experience,
   22  and uses metaphors and other interventions to assist the patient
   23  in recalling less distressing images while retaining the facts
   24  of the original experience.
   25         (b) “Acupuncture” has the same meaning as provided in s.
   26  457.102.
   27         (c) “Acupuncturist” has the same meaning as provided in s.
   28  457.102.
   29         (d) “Alternative treatment” means a treatment that is not
   30  part of the standard of medical care established by the United
   31  States Department of Veterans Affairs for treating traumatic
   32  brain injury or posttraumatic stress disorder but has been shown
   33  by at least one scientific or medical peer-reviewed study to
   34  have some positive effect for the treatment of traumatic brain
   35  injury or posttraumatic stress disorder.
   36         (e) “Equine therapy” means the use of interaction with
   37  horses under the supervision of a trained equine instructor to
   38  improve the patient’s sense of trust and self-efficiency;
   39  increase communication, socialization, and emotional management
   40  skills; and decrease isolation.
   41         (f) “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy” means the use of 100
   42  percent oxygen at an increased level of atmospheric pressure to
   43  promote the delivery of oxygen from the environment to the
   44  patient’s bloodstream, organs, and tissues.
   45         (g) “Meditation therapy” means the use of physical
   46  positions or relaxation techniques to encourage calm, reflective
   47  thinking and self-inquiry.
   48         (h) “Music therapy” means the use of music listening or
   49  performance to address the patient’s physical, emotional,
   50  cognitive, and social needs and to facilitate communication and
   51  expression.
   52         (i) “Outdoor and indoor sports therapy” means the use of
   53  sports involving physical activity or action to improve the
   54  patient’s functional, occupational, and physical fitness. The
   55  term does not include any physical activity or action that may
   56  result in contact with the patient’s head.
   57         (j) “Service animal training therapy” means a technique
   58  that allows the patient to work directly with an animal trainer
   59  to train animals as therapy or service animals.
   60         (k) “Yoga therapy” means the use of physical postures,
   61  breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation for the
   62  purpose of reducing the patient’s physical, mental, or emotional
   63  stress.
   64         (2) Subject to legislative appropriation, the Department of
   65  Veterans’ Affairs may contract with one or more individuals,
   66  corporations not for profit, state universities, or Florida
   67  College System institutions to provide the following alternative
   68  treatment options for veterans who have been certified by the
   69  United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any branch of
   70  the United States Armed Forces as having a traumatic brain
   71  injury or posttraumatic stress disorder:
   72         (a) Accelerated resolution therapy.
   73         (b) Acupuncture, which must be provided by an
   74  acupuncturist.
   75         (c) Equine therapy.
   76         (d) Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which must be provided by a
   77  licensed operator of a hyperbaric oxygen facility pursuant to a
   78  written prescription from an individual licensed under chapter
   79  458 or chapter 459.
   80         (e) Meditation therapy.
   81         (f) Music therapy.
   82         (g) Outdoor and indoor sports therapy.
   83         (h) Service animal training therapy.
   84         (i) Yoga therapy.
   85         (3) The provision of alternative treatment must be under
   86  the direction and supervision of an individual licensed under
   87  chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, chapter 490, or chapter
   88  491.
   89         (4) The Department of Veterans’ Affairs may adopt rules to
   90  implement this section.
   91         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.