Florida Bill Mandates Urgent Care to Post Prices in Lobby (05/04/2011)

On Monday the Florida Senate unanimously passed Bill HB 935 requiring primary care providers, including walk-in urgent care clinics, to conspicuously post their charges in the reception area of their facility for the medical services they provide. Effective July 1, 2011, the bill states that “a primary care provider shall publish a schedule of charges for the medical services that the provider offers … The schedule must include the prices charged to an uninsured person paying for such services by cash, check, credit card, or debit card. The schedule must be posted in a conspicuous place in the reception area of the provider’s office.”

The Florida House passed a similar bill 107-7 in April before it moved through the Senate on Monday. According to the Associated Press, “the House version applied only to urgent-care centers owned by hospitals. The Senate version covers all urgent-care centers.” The bill has now been passed back to the House.

Penalties for failing to comply with the bill, which was passed in an effort to provide the public with better transparency on the cost of their healthcare, include “denial of a license” and “disciplinary action.”
It is important to note that the bill is not all-inclusive of the types of medical services available to the public. The bill defines a “primary care provider” as a “health care provider who provides medical services to patients which are commonly provided without referral from another health care provider, including family and general practice, general pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and general internal medicine,” making the bill very specific to primary and urgent care. It specifically fails to hold emergency departments, hospitals, surgeons, specialists, etc., to the same standard of transparency.

Florida physicians who believe all medical facilities should be held to the same standard should contact their state legislators by visiting the official website of the Florida Legislature at www.leg.state.fl.us.

Click here to view the bill.