Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 846
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Rouson) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 768.755, Florida Statutes, is created to
    6  read:
    7         768.755 Damages recoverable for costs of past health care
    8  services, procedures, or equipment; evidence of usual and
    9  customary rates; applicability.—
   10         (1) As used in this section, the term “charge benchmarks,”
   11  for particular health care services, procedures, or equipment,
   12  means the value, at a specified percentile rank within a range
   13  of benchmarks, which corresponds with the distribution of the
   14  full, nondiscounted standard rates charged by health care
   15  providers in the same or a similar specialty in the same
   16  geographical area under the current official code for such
   17  services, procedures, or equipment provided out-of-network or to
   18  uninsured individuals.
   19         (2) In a personal injury or wrongful death action to which
   20  this part applies, for any claim of damages for the costs of
   21  health care services, procedures, or equipment provided to a
   22  claimant which are unpaid and remain due and payable, evidence
   23  of the usual and customary rates for such services, procedures,
   24  or equipment must be introduced at trial as follows:
   25         (a) If the claimant has coverage for such services,
   26  procedures, or equipment from a governmental program but, in
   27  lieu of such program coverage, chooses for such services,
   28  procedures, or equipment to be provided by a health care
   29  provider who contractually agrees to defer payment until
   30  recovery from the claimant’s damages award or settlement,
   31  evidence must be introduced at trial of the government program’s
   32  usual and customary rates for such services, procedures, or
   33  equipment at the 85th percentile rank of the charge benchmarks
   34  as reported in the benchmarking database maintained by FAIR
   35  Health, Inc.
   36         (b) If the claimant has coverage for such services,
   37  procedures, or equipment from a commercial insurance carrier or
   38  under a plan self-funded by the claimant’s employer but, in lieu
   39  of such insurance coverage, chooses for such services,
   40  procedures, or equipment to be provided by a health care
   41  provider who contractually agrees to defer payment until
   42  recovery from the claimant’s damages award or settlement,
   43  evidence must be introduced at trial of the usual and customary
   44  rates for such services, procedures, or equipment at the 85th
   45  percentile rank of the charge benchmarks as reported in the
   46  benchmarking database maintained by FAIR Health, Inc.
   47         (c) If the claimant does not have coverage for such
   48  services, procedures, or equipment, evidence must be introduced
   49  at trial of the usual and customary rates for such services,
   50  procedures, or equipment at the 85th percentile rank of the
   51  charge benchmarks as reported in the benchmarking database
   52  maintained by FAIR Health, Inc.
   53  
   54  The usual and customary rates required to be introduced pursuant
   55  to this subsection are presumed to be reasonable rates.
   56         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
   57  
   58  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   59  And the title is amended as follows:
   60         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   61  and insert:
   62                        A bill to be entitled                      
   63         An act relating to medical expenses; creating s.
   64         768.755, F.S.; defining the term “charge benchmarks”;
   65         requiring that evidence of the usual and customary
   66         rates for certain services, procedures, or equipment
   67         be introduced at trial in a specified manner;
   68         specifying that such usual and customary rates are
   69         presumed to be reasonable rates; providing an
   70         effective date.