Proposed Florida Bill to Better Regulate Cash-Only Medical Clinics

March 26, 2014

The Insurance Journal reported that a measure (SB 746) proposed by Florida State Senator Eleanor Sobel quickly passed through the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice this week. The measure was introduced to better regulate cash-only medical clinics because the current law allows these clinics to operate in secret, thus creating an opportunity for illicit activity. The proposed bill would require cash-only medical clinics to be licensed and exposed to state inspection. Additionally, cash-only clinics permitting a doctor to practice with a suspended or revoked license would be subject to criminal penalties. Under current law, only an application and a $100 non-expiring exemption fee that does not require renewal are required for a person to open and operate a cash-only clinic. For example, many cash-only medical clinics pose as storefronts like anti-aging clinics headed by a doctor, but in reality, they distribute steroids, human growth hormone and sometimes pills. If authorities approach, they simply close and open a new storefront at a different location. The most high profile example of a clinic taking advantage of the cash-only loophole in the current law is Biogenesis of America which was recently sued by Major League Baseball. The proposed bill would close the loophole, thus preventing cash-only medical clinics from operating in secrecy.

View the full article on Insurance Journal’s website: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2014/03/26/324437.htm

View the Florida Senate Bill SB 746 on Florida Senate website: http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2014/0746