Susie
05-05-2007, 06:53 PM
http://news.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBE74WJB1F.html
No-Fault Insurance Set To Expire
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By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 5, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Florida drivers could get a significant break on their auto insurance bills after lawmakers allowed the state's beleaguered no-fault system to expire.
Negotiations on the last day of the regular 2007 legislative session failed to break an impasse over replacing or extending the no-fault system.
Unless the matter comes up in the special legislative session June 12-22 to address property taxes, no-fault will expire Oct. 1, and Florida will revert to a traditional at-fault system where drivers injured in accidents can seek compensation from the person responsible for the crash.
State Farm, the state's largest auto insurer with 25 percent of the market, has filed new rates in anticipation of the new scenario that reflect a 16 percent statewide reduction. In the Tampa Bay area, it could mean savings of $200 on a comprehensive six-month auto policy.
The willingness to back off on the auto insurance issue and allow no-fault to expire was consistent with a more orderly, less frenzied legislative session this year. That reflected the low-key and workmanlike nature of Republican presiding officers Marco Rubio, the House speaker from Miami, and Ken Pruitt, the Senate president from Port St. Lucie.
Rep. Ellen Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, the key House negotiator on no-fault, said it was better for Floridians to let the system expire than to pass "an inferior product or a product that was going to continue the status quo - a system that's fraught with fraud."
'Everybody Worked Together'
The 60th day of the annual legislative session stood in marked contrast to previous years' final meetings. Instead of the manic bill shuffling and late amendment blitzes that occasionally have run right up to the mandated midnight close, lawmakers held leisurely sessions Friday featuring hourslong lunch breaks, recesses, tributes and high jinks.
The Senate had run through its agenda by 3:45 p.m., the House shortly thereafter, and the traditional rotunda sine die ceremony began at 4:10 p.m. The Latin phrase means to adjourn "without a day" or close a session for good.
Ticking off highlights from school and biotechnology spending to passage of the "Anti-Murder Act" dear to Gov. Charlie Crist, Pruitt told the crowd, "A lot of folks said this couldn't be done. And at the end of the day, they're going to say, how did you do it?
"It's because on Nov. 7, there was a loud message that was sent by the people of this great state. They said, 'We want you working for us. We want you doing what is right for the people of the great state of Florida.' Governor, you set the tone for that."
Crist returned the compliment.
"All the members of the House, all the members of the Senate, Republicans, Democrats, everybody worked together to do what's right, and that's why Florida is getting it right," Crist said. "It is amazing what is happening here."
The governor said that in killing a bill that would have weakened reforms of state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., lawmakers "put a nail in the coffin of an industry that was hurting our people.
"I hear some groans from insurance lobbyists," he added. "Tough. We work for the people. It's a new day in this place."
Despite the upbeat mood Friday, a gorilla in the room was symbolized by a prominent message adorning the podium: "Lower Property Taxes Are On The Way," a sign read.
This week, lawmakers gave up on solving the property tax crisis in the legislative session and scheduled a summer special session to try again on the issue.
Crist and the legislative leaders expressed confidence the goal would be accomplished.
No Agreement On No-Fault
Agreement also could not be reached with the no-fault insurance issue, where the last few days of the session saw much wrangling.
In Florida, drivers are required to hold $10,000 worth of personal injury protection in their auto policies. If they are injured in an accident, that PIP provision covers their medical bills no matter who causes the crash, and they cannot sue under most circumstances.
But that $10,000 of coverage has become a tempting pot for unscrupulous practitioners who can run up bills related to minor or nonexistent injuries.
The first piece of legislation attempted to establish a fee schedule for medical treatments of accident victims, to better control what critics say is fraudulent overbilling by clinics. Later, lawmakers tried to move the no-fault expiration date four years out, to further study problems in the system.
Bogdanoff attempted to replace no-fault with a requirement that drivers obtain $10,000 in emergency care coverage, which would cover expenses at emergency rooms and trauma centers.
Despite having some of the more powerful lobbying forces in Tallahassee leaning on lawmakers to maintain the status quo, the House refused to advance the Senate bill doing so.
Clinics Depend On Current System
If the no-fault system disappears in Florida, a niche industry of medical clinics that specializes in accident treatment could be dealt a harmful, if not fatal, blow.
For example, in Sarasota a business called Physicians Group LLC has sprung up in recent years and grown to 42 treatment facilities and offices stretching from Naples to Jacksonville. It is led by chiropractor Gary Kompothecras, a friend and campaign contributor of Crist.
Physicians Group is better known by its advertising campaign, 1-800-ASK-GARY, which urges accident victims to call the toll-free number for referral to a lawyer or physician. In many cases, the 1-800-ASK-GARY operators refer callers to Physicians Group's clinics.
Such clinics depend on Florida's no-fault system because it guarantees them quicker payment. Today, a patient of Physicians Group can simply assign his or her automobile insurance benefits to the company, and Physicians Group can directly bill the insurer.
Without no-fault, accident clinics likely would have to wait much longer for payment, said Greg Zitani, Physicians Group's corporate counsel.
Physicians Group saw the potential problems firsthand when it tried to expand into Georgia in late 2005.
Georgia doesn't have a no-fault system, so Physicians Group had to rely on a promise from a patient's law firm that it would be paid out of any proceeds from a lawsuit.
The company pulled out of Georgia after six months because its physician salaries and other overhead costs were too high.
Hospitals, meanwhile, say they stand to lose $350 million in revenue by serving crash victims who do not hold mandatory personal injury protection and are otherwise uninsured and unable to pay their medical bills.
"Some hospitals may have to reconsider whether they can continue to operate their trauma centers, and that would be a tragic loss for the people of Florida," said Wayne NeSmith, president of the Florida Hospital Association.
In its filing with the state Office of Insurance Regulation, State Farm said that a middle-age female driver in Tampa pays about $565 every six months for a comprehensive auto package; that would drop to $455 with the expiration of PIP. An older male driver would see his $500 bill fall to $402. A male teenage driver now paying about $1,675 in Tampa would see his bill drop to $1,280, State Farm reported.
Reporters Michael Sasso, Josh Poltilove and Catherine Dolinski contributed to this report. Reporter Jerome R. Stockfisch can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or jstockfisch@tampatrib.com.
No-Fault Insurance Set To Expire
Skip directly to the full story.
By JEROME R. STOCKFISCH The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 5, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Florida drivers could get a significant break on their auto insurance bills after lawmakers allowed the state's beleaguered no-fault system to expire.
Negotiations on the last day of the regular 2007 legislative session failed to break an impasse over replacing or extending the no-fault system.
Unless the matter comes up in the special legislative session June 12-22 to address property taxes, no-fault will expire Oct. 1, and Florida will revert to a traditional at-fault system where drivers injured in accidents can seek compensation from the person responsible for the crash.
State Farm, the state's largest auto insurer with 25 percent of the market, has filed new rates in anticipation of the new scenario that reflect a 16 percent statewide reduction. In the Tampa Bay area, it could mean savings of $200 on a comprehensive six-month auto policy.
The willingness to back off on the auto insurance issue and allow no-fault to expire was consistent with a more orderly, less frenzied legislative session this year. That reflected the low-key and workmanlike nature of Republican presiding officers Marco Rubio, the House speaker from Miami, and Ken Pruitt, the Senate president from Port St. Lucie.
Rep. Ellen Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, the key House negotiator on no-fault, said it was better for Floridians to let the system expire than to pass "an inferior product or a product that was going to continue the status quo - a system that's fraught with fraud."
'Everybody Worked Together'
The 60th day of the annual legislative session stood in marked contrast to previous years' final meetings. Instead of the manic bill shuffling and late amendment blitzes that occasionally have run right up to the mandated midnight close, lawmakers held leisurely sessions Friday featuring hourslong lunch breaks, recesses, tributes and high jinks.
The Senate had run through its agenda by 3:45 p.m., the House shortly thereafter, and the traditional rotunda sine die ceremony began at 4:10 p.m. The Latin phrase means to adjourn "without a day" or close a session for good.
Ticking off highlights from school and biotechnology spending to passage of the "Anti-Murder Act" dear to Gov. Charlie Crist, Pruitt told the crowd, "A lot of folks said this couldn't be done. And at the end of the day, they're going to say, how did you do it?
"It's because on Nov. 7, there was a loud message that was sent by the people of this great state. They said, 'We want you working for us. We want you doing what is right for the people of the great state of Florida.' Governor, you set the tone for that."
Crist returned the compliment.
"All the members of the House, all the members of the Senate, Republicans, Democrats, everybody worked together to do what's right, and that's why Florida is getting it right," Crist said. "It is amazing what is happening here."
The governor said that in killing a bill that would have weakened reforms of state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., lawmakers "put a nail in the coffin of an industry that was hurting our people.
"I hear some groans from insurance lobbyists," he added. "Tough. We work for the people. It's a new day in this place."
Despite the upbeat mood Friday, a gorilla in the room was symbolized by a prominent message adorning the podium: "Lower Property Taxes Are On The Way," a sign read.
This week, lawmakers gave up on solving the property tax crisis in the legislative session and scheduled a summer special session to try again on the issue.
Crist and the legislative leaders expressed confidence the goal would be accomplished.
No Agreement On No-Fault
Agreement also could not be reached with the no-fault insurance issue, where the last few days of the session saw much wrangling.
In Florida, drivers are required to hold $10,000 worth of personal injury protection in their auto policies. If they are injured in an accident, that PIP provision covers their medical bills no matter who causes the crash, and they cannot sue under most circumstances.
But that $10,000 of coverage has become a tempting pot for unscrupulous practitioners who can run up bills related to minor or nonexistent injuries.
The first piece of legislation attempted to establish a fee schedule for medical treatments of accident victims, to better control what critics say is fraudulent overbilling by clinics. Later, lawmakers tried to move the no-fault expiration date four years out, to further study problems in the system.
Bogdanoff attempted to replace no-fault with a requirement that drivers obtain $10,000 in emergency care coverage, which would cover expenses at emergency rooms and trauma centers.
Despite having some of the more powerful lobbying forces in Tallahassee leaning on lawmakers to maintain the status quo, the House refused to advance the Senate bill doing so.
Clinics Depend On Current System
If the no-fault system disappears in Florida, a niche industry of medical clinics that specializes in accident treatment could be dealt a harmful, if not fatal, blow.
For example, in Sarasota a business called Physicians Group LLC has sprung up in recent years and grown to 42 treatment facilities and offices stretching from Naples to Jacksonville. It is led by chiropractor Gary Kompothecras, a friend and campaign contributor of Crist.
Physicians Group is better known by its advertising campaign, 1-800-ASK-GARY, which urges accident victims to call the toll-free number for referral to a lawyer or physician. In many cases, the 1-800-ASK-GARY operators refer callers to Physicians Group's clinics.
Such clinics depend on Florida's no-fault system because it guarantees them quicker payment. Today, a patient of Physicians Group can simply assign his or her automobile insurance benefits to the company, and Physicians Group can directly bill the insurer.
Without no-fault, accident clinics likely would have to wait much longer for payment, said Greg Zitani, Physicians Group's corporate counsel.
Physicians Group saw the potential problems firsthand when it tried to expand into Georgia in late 2005.
Georgia doesn't have a no-fault system, so Physicians Group had to rely on a promise from a patient's law firm that it would be paid out of any proceeds from a lawsuit.
The company pulled out of Georgia after six months because its physician salaries and other overhead costs were too high.
Hospitals, meanwhile, say they stand to lose $350 million in revenue by serving crash victims who do not hold mandatory personal injury protection and are otherwise uninsured and unable to pay their medical bills.
"Some hospitals may have to reconsider whether they can continue to operate their trauma centers, and that would be a tragic loss for the people of Florida," said Wayne NeSmith, president of the Florida Hospital Association.
In its filing with the state Office of Insurance Regulation, State Farm said that a middle-age female driver in Tampa pays about $565 every six months for a comprehensive auto package; that would drop to $455 with the expiration of PIP. An older male driver would see his $500 bill fall to $402. A male teenage driver now paying about $1,675 in Tampa would see his bill drop to $1,280, State Farm reported.
Reporters Michael Sasso, Josh Poltilove and Catherine Dolinski contributed to this report. Reporter Jerome R. Stockfisch can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or jstockfisch@tampatrib.com.