Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General re Physician Shall Charge the Same Fee for the Same Health Care Service to Every Patient

880 So. 2d 659, 29 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 402, 2004 Fla. LEXIS 1002, 2004 WL 1574109
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJuly 15, 2004
DocketNo. SC04-779
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 880 So. 2d 659 (Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General re Physician Shall Charge the Same Fee for the Same Health Care Service to Every Patient) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General re Physician Shall Charge the Same Fee for the Same Health Care Service to Every Patient, 880 So. 2d 659, 29 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 402, 2004 Fla. LEXIS 1002, 2004 WL 1574109 (Fla. 2004).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

The Attorney General has petitioned this Court seeking an advisory opinion regarding the validity of a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution submitted by an organization that has taken the name Floridians for Patient Protection. We have jurisdiction. See art. IV, § 10; art. V, § 3(b)(10), Fla. Const.

The full text of the proposed amendment reads as follows:

(1) Statement and Purpose:
[660]*660Many physicians in Florida agree to accept fees for health care covered by health insurance plans or other governmental or private third-party payor programs which limit payments for particular medical treatments, services or procedures. Yet many Floridians, including those in Health Maintenance Organizations or other “managed-care” programs and those without any coverage at all, pay substantially-higher fees for the same medical services. The purpose of this amendment is to insure that all Floridians are able to obtain the lowest prices for medical services which doctors will accept. Doctors will remain free to set their own fees, or to agree to any charges or fee schedules from third-party payors, subject to general law, but they can no longer charge some Floridians more for the same services just because the patients are not in the lowest-cost health insurance plan. In order to help consumers protect themselves against over-charges, patients and their representatives are to be given access, upon request, to the fee data necessary to determine whether they are receiving the lowest agreed-upon fee or whether this amendment is otherwise being violated.
(2) Amendment of Florida Constitution: Art. X, Fla. Const., is amended by adding the following section at the end thereof, to read:
“Section 22. Physicians’ Health Care Charges.[1]
(a)A physician shall charge all purchasers the lowest fee for health care which the physician has agreed to accept as full payment for the same health care when the same health care is being paid for in whole or in part through any agreement between the physician and any other purchaser. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the physician’s right to provide any health care for free.
(b) To assist patients to determine a physician’s fees and compliance with this Section, a patient shall have access to any fee schedules agreed to by the physician, and any other records of the physician related to the patient’s health care which might contain information indicating whether the physician is in compliance with this Section. This right of access, whether or not exercised, may not be waived, and may be exercised prior to, during or after the health care is provided. This right of access is not intended to conflict with, supercede or alter any rights or obligations under general law related to the privacy of patient records.
(c) Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(i) “Health care” means services, procedures, treatment, accommodations or products provided by a physician described by this section.
(ii) “Physician” means one licensed pursuant to Chapter 458, Florida Statutes, or any similar successor statute, and any corporation, professional association or similar organization established and operated for the purpose of providing health care by such licensees.
(iii) “Purchaser” means patients, third-party payors or others paying for a patient’s health care, and does [661]*661not include a patient receiving care without charge.
(iv) “Charge” means require, charge, bill, accept or be entitled to receive as payment for health care.
(v) “Patient” means an individual who has sought, is seeking, is receiving, or has received health care from the physician.
(vi) “Have access to” means, in addition to any other procedure for producing such records provided by general law, making the records available for review, inspection and copying upon formal or informal request by the patient or a representative of the patient, provided that current records which have been made publicly available by publication or on the Internet may be made available by reference to the location at which the records are publicly available.”
(3) Effective Date and Severability:
This amendment shall be effective on the date it is approved by the electorate, and shall apply to any health care payment agreement entered into or renewed after the effective date. If any portion of this measure is held invalid for any reason, the remaining portion of this measure, to the fullest extent possible, shall be severed from the void portion and given the fullest possible force and application.

The ballot title for the proposed amendment is “Physician Shall Charge the Same Fee for the Same Health Care Service to Every Patient.” The summary for the proposed amendment provides:

Current law allows a physician to charge different prices for the same health care provided to different patients. This amendment would require a physician to charge the same fee for the same health care service, procedure or treatment. Requires lowest fee which physician has agreed to accept. Doesn’t limit physician’s ability to provide free services. A patient may review the physician’s fee and similar information before, during or after the health care is provided.

We have previously explained our standard of review in connection with petitions seeking advisory opinions of this nature:

In determining the validity' of initiative petitions, this Court’s inquiry is limited to two legal issues: whether the proposed amendment comports with the single-subject requirement of article XI, section 3 of Florida’s Constitution, and whether the ballot title and summary are clear and unambiguous pursuant to section 101.161(1), Florida Statutes (1999). This Court’s review of a proposed amendment is strictly limited to these legal issues and does not include an evaluation of the merits or the wisdom of the proposed amendment. Accordingly, we do not have the authority to evaluate whether ... the subject matter of this proposed amendment should more appropriately be addressed by the Legislature.

Advisory Op. to the Att’y Gen. re Fla. Transp. Initiative for Statewide High Speed Monorail, Fixed Guideway or Magnetic Levitation Sys., 769 So.2d 367, 368-69 (Fla.2000) (citations omitted).2

SINGLE-SUBJECT REQUIREMENT

Article XI, section 3, of the Florida Constitution provides, in pertinent part:

The power to propose the revision or amendment of any portion or portions of this constitution by initiative is reserved [662]*662to the people, provided that, any such revision or amendment, except for those limiting the power of government to raise revenue, shall embrace but one subject and matter directly connected therewith.

This Court has recognized that the single-subject requirement protects against “multiple precipitous changes in our state constitution.” Fine v. Firestone, 448 So.2d 984, 988 (Fla.1984).

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880 So. 2d 659, 29 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 402, 2004 Fla. LEXIS 1002, 2004 WL 1574109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/advisory-opinion-to-the-attorney-general-re-physician-shall-charge-the-same-fla-2004.