Navigating the Legislative Tides: A Mid-Session Update from the Florida Gastroenterologic Society
As the 2024 Legislative Session in Florida strides past its one-third mark, the Florida Gastroenterologic Society (FGS) remains actively engaged, monitoring and influencing healthcare legislation that impacts gastroenterologists across the state. While thousands of bills are in the mix, only a select few have garnered significant attention. Here’s a concise overview of the key bills and initiatives that FGS is closely watching:
Fecal Calprotectin Testing Update
Dear Colleagues– Advocacy for our patients, our profession, and the ongoing fight against inflammatory bowel disease can lead to amazing results. FGS and the CCF Engagement Council have worked hard to provide better access for patients with this debilitating disease by fighting for easier utilization of medications, better access to care, and approval of tests […]
2021 Legislative Session Wrap-Up
Christopher L. Nuland, Esq.Lobbyist and Counsel In what was undoubtedly the most challenging Session ever for both legislators and lobbyists, whose interactions were minimized by Covid protocols, we did emerge with several notable victories and some “near-misses” that we will engage in next year. One of our biggest victories was the passage of a Covid […]
Legislative Update – March 26, 2021
AI-generated transcript below [00:01]Good morning and welcome to the Week for Legislative Report. Things have been active in Tallahassee this past week, but nothing is as vital to physicians as the Covid liability bill. By the time that you’re looking at this, that bill should be on Governor DeSantis’s desk. This bill will protect those […]
2021 Week One Advocacy Report
Christopher L. Nuland, Esq. March 4, 2021 We have just concluded the first week at the State Capitol, where lobbyists are not allowed in the lobby, making our legislative communications a new art form that includes stalking on the streets, finding legislators at the bar, remote testifying, zoom calls, text messages, and Facebook messaging, It […]
2021 Legislative Preview
2021 Legislative Preview Christopher L. Nuland, Esq. FGS Counsel and Lobbyist Amid extraordinary precautions necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, legislators return to the Capitol next week to tackle issues both old and new, as Florida faces several dating challenges. For instance, the COVID lockdown has cost the State billions of dollars in sales and […]
Clarification on Executive Order 20-72
Below is the “official communique” that we developed with the FMA. The only addition to make is that the Board of Medicine is OK with any procedure to excise or treat suspected cancer, as that is necessarily a serious condition that will worsen if not treated. Please make sure to exercise your member benefit and […]
2019 Telehealth Bill
In 2019, Florida passed the Telehealth Bill which establishes standards of practice for telehealth services, including patient evaluations, record-keeping, and controlled substances prescribing. The bill also authorizes out-of-state health care practitioners to perform telehealth services for patients in Florida upon meeting certain eligibility requirements and registering with the department. The Florida Department of Health has […]
Two New Laws Impacting Gastroenterologists
As of July 1, 2019, two new laws will go into effect that will impact many gastroenterologists. Under the first, ambulatory surgery centers will now be allowed to keep patients up to 24 hours, even if that means a stay after midnight. The old law required either a discharge or hospital transfer before midnight. Under […]
2019 Legislative Wrap-Up
Talk about suspense! This legislative session brought with it several high-profile issues that remained active right to the end! And, I am happy to report that our lobbyist, Chris Nuland, has provided an extraordinary final report to share with you. On defense, we stopped all attempts at Scope of Practice expansion, including pharmacists, nurse practitioners, […]