TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A complete invoice filed within the Florida Home seeks to considerably enhance the state’s statutory limits on legal responsibility for tort claims towards the federal government. A separate Home invoice would mandate protection for annual mammograms and supplemental breast most cancers screenings underneath Medicaid and most personal well being plans.
Enhance payouts for victims in lawsuits towards the state
What it does: HB 145 would amend a Florida Statute, rising the utmost quantity the state and its companies should pay for tort claims—together with these ensuing from private damage or demise—and revises the foundations for the way, when, and whether or not such claims may be settled.
The invoice consists of the next key adjustments to sovereign immunity and tort claims:
- Will increase legal responsibility limits: The utmost restoration for claims accruing on or after Oct. 1, 2026 would enhance from the present $200,000 per individual and $300,000 per incident to:
- $500,000 per individual and $1 million per incident starting Oct. 1, 2026.
- $600,000 per individual and $1.2 million per incident starting Oct. 1, 2031.
- Settlement authority: The invoice authorizes a subdivision of the state, reminiscent of a county or metropolis, to settle a declare in extra of the statutory restrict without having a separate act of the legislature, no matter its insurance coverage protection limits.
- Declare invoice prohibition: Starting Oct. 1, 2026, an insurance coverage coverage issued to the state or any company could not situation cost on the enactment of a declare invoice by the legislature.
The invoice additionally consists of the next adjustments:
- Claims deadline extension: The interval inside which a claimant should current a tort declare in writing to the suitable company is revised, extending the deadline from 18 months to 3 years after the declare accrues.
- Declare denial timeframe: The interval for the state to make a ultimate disposition of a declare is deemed a ultimate denial if not accomplished inside 4 months, although this era is shortened to 90 days for medical malpractice and wrongful demise actions.
The sponsors: The invoice is being carried by Rep. Rep. Fiona McFarland. A Senate model has but to be filed.
New mandate would power insurers to cowl superior breast most cancers screenings
HB 137 would require the Company for Well being Care Administration, or AHCA, to supply protection for annual mammograms and sure supplemental screenings for Medicaid recipients between the ages of 25 and 40, and would mandate that particular person and group insurance coverage insurance policies revise their protection for each mammograms and supplemental screenings for girls in danger.
The invoice consists of the next key provisions:
- Medicaid enlargement: Topic to funding, AHCA should present protection for one mammogram and one supplemental screening every year for Medicaid ladies aged 25 to 40, if the girl has dense breast tissue or is at elevated threat as a result of genetic predisposition, household historical past, or different components.
- Non-public protection enlargement: The invoice requires particular person and group medical health insurance insurance policies and HMO contracts to cowl a minimum of one annual baseline mammogram for girls between ages 25 and 40.
- At-risk supplemental protection: Non-public plans should cowl supplemental breast most cancers screening for any lady discovered to be in danger as a result of components together with dense breast tissue, private or household historical past, or genetic predisposition.
- Federal approval: AHCA is required to hunt federal approval if essential to implement the Medicaid protection provisions.
The sponsors: The invoice is being carried by Democratic Rep. Dianne Hart. A Senate model has but to be filed.
The 2026 legislative session begins Jan. 13.
