Why you should be concerned about HB 837

On February 17, 2023, the Florida House of Representatives filed proposed Bill HB 837 which claims to directly target “billboard attorneys.” What this bill actually does is impact the medical provider and the injured person / patient directly, so you need to understand what is being proposed and how it could affect you.

There are several main takeaways from the proposed Bill 837 which is up for discussion and review before the House of Representatives at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, February 24, 2023 – none of which are good for medical providers or their patients (injured persons):

  1. The Bill allows for the admissibility of lawyer-doctor referral relationships and letters of protection (“LOP”) to the court and jury. This creates a presumption of impropriety, when in reality many providers will not treat individuals who are injured in accidents unless a referral comes from an attorney. It is a violation of attorney-client privileged communications and suggests there is something nefarious when a lawyer refers a patient to a competent, credible medical provider who is willing to treat individuals injured in an accident.
  2. If PIP is still in existence and there is a proposed bill to get rid of PIP as well, which is a separate discussion, proposed HB 837 eliminates the ability to recover attorney fees for any first party claims. This means unless the medical provider wants to pay for an attorney out of pocket, they will not have any recourse against the insurance companies when they underpay or fail to pay pending PIP, med pay, or other first party claims. The repeal of Stat. 627.428 allows insurance companies to deny or underpay every single claim without the threat of being held responsible.
  3. This proposed bill also guts the current bad faith law. Carriers will not be held accountable for failing to pay claims properly, even if done as a regular business practice.
  4. It caps the recoverable LOP damages at Medicare or 140% of Medicaid rates if the patient does not have health insurance.
  5. If a heath care provider sells the accounts receivable for the patient’s medical expenses to a factoring company or third party, the name of the factoring party and the dollar amount for which the accounts were purchased must be disclosed, including all discounts provided below the invoice amount.
  6. If there is not greater than 50% liability on the allegedly at fault party, then there is no recovery at all. That means medical bills will likely not be paid as there may not be recovery at trial. A scenario to consider – someone cuts over from the left lane into your lane and you rear end the vehicle. In Florida there is a presumption of negligence for the driver who rear ends another vehicle. If both sides testified at trial and the jury finds that the rear end driver was at least 50% at fault, then you as the rear end driver would not be allowed to recover anything, even if the accident was not your fault.
  7. It ties all future medical damages to Medicare and Medicaid rates. What this means is an injured person without health care coverage involved in a car accident will be stuck with a higher outstanding balance for the medical bills as the proposed bill only states that “the claimant is entitled” to Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement rates. Many people are unable to afford the balance of large medical bills, which means medical providers will likely remain unpaid.

We understand and appreciate how in every profession there are a few “bad apples” which try to exploit loopholes in the system and create issues for the those following the intent of the law. Unfortunately, this proposed Bill does not address the “bad apples”. Instead, it leaves everything in the hands of the insurance carriers without any opportunity to address or challenge issues as they arise.

This proposed Bill is a huge pendulum swing in the opposite direction and will be ineffective against the issues it claims to target. Instead, HB 837 will cause its own set of significant issues for the medical professionals, attorneys, and injured patients – leaving them without recourse and without access to the courthouse.  Most significantly it will leave the general public without necessary and reasonable access to medical treatment when they need it most because providers will opt to not accept patients when they need medical care the most.

Now is the time to speak up and address your concerns with your elected representatives. It is also time to get your medical bills reviewed by our PIP team so any underpaid or non-paid claims can be addressed before your ability to address them disappears on July 1, 2023, which is the proposed date HB 837 will take effect.

You can view the proposed Bill at: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/837/BillText/Filed/PDF

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact Laporte Law LLC at
407-676-5544 or email us at info@LLFLA.com.