No vax, no mask, but still service
A push to require doctors to treat unvaccinated patients fell short on the final day of the Florida Legislature's regular session but lawmakers did agree to pass a priority healthcare package for Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The House on Friday voted unanimously for final approval of HB 1299.
The bill extends the legal definition of mRNA vaccines and continues a ban on businesses, government entities, and education institutions from denying entry or service based on vaccination status. Mask requirements are also banned under the law, which DeSantis persuaded the Legislature to approve in 2021.
But legislators stripped a mandate from the bill that physicians treat patients regardless of vaccination status after Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell, Democratic Sen. Lori Berman, and independent Sen. Jason Pizzo expressed discomfort with the requirement. Harrell, whose late husband was a physician, warned that the requirement would open doctors to increased liability.
Pizzo said the mandate would have contradicted a law that guarantees Florida physicians legal protections to not treat patients on the basis of their conscience.
HB 1299 also tweaks a 2024 law that banned the Board of Medicine from licensing by 'endorsement' physicians who have been reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank, which includes information on medical malpractice settlements.
HB 1299 makes clear that the Board of Medicine (BOM) can approve licenses by endorsement based on data bank files as long as the reported incident didn't violate any state law or rule.
Licensure by endorsement is the route to practice in Florida for doctors initially licensed in other states.
The Board of Medicine opposed the changes in the 2024 law and even contemplated asking the governor to veto the bill. Sen. Jay Collins, sponsor of the Senate companion bill, said he worked with the board to iron out the language.
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