NEWS: REGARDING THE TEMPORARY INJUNCTION OF FLORIDA'S NO FAULT PIP BILL.
Dr. Alan HimmelPDF:
JUDGE ORDERS TEMPORARY INJUNCTION
BELOW: From the South Florida Business Journal
Gov. Scott to fight ruling against auto insurance PIP changes
Gov. Rick Scott, who has repeatedly seen courts throw out measures he has pushed along with the Republican-controlled legislature, vowed to fight against a blistering court ruling that blocked a series of changes made to Florida’s auto insurance laws.
Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis agreed this week to a temporary injunction against a portion of the state’s new personal injury protection laws. Lewis concluded that the changes severely limit care and the no fault program is no longer a reasonable alternative to court.
Office of Insurance Regulation General Counsel Belinda Miller said in an email on Wednesday that the state would file an appeal as quickly as possible. Miller told insurers writing automobile insurance coverage that the appeal would act as a stay until the First District Court of Appeal acts.
In a statement, Scott contended the changes had resulted in nearly three-quarters of auto insurance carriers either lowering – or keeping steady – their rates.
"Our reforms are working to lower insurance costs for Florida families and we will continue to fight special interest groups to keep them in place," Scott said.
However, the ruling by Lewis is another in a line of rulings on everything from prison privatization to drug testing for welfare recipients from Scott’s agenda that have been successfully challenged in court. The state Supreme Court did side with the governor on a measure to force state workers and public employees to contribute 3 percent of their salaries to cover pension costs.
After lawmakers passed the PIP law last year, chiropractors, massage therapists and acupuncturists filed a lawsuit arguing it violated their ability to earn a living; violated due process because it was not rationally related to a legitimate public policy or objective; violated the single subject requirement; and violated people’s access to courts.
Lewis opined that the plaintiffs only satisfied the access to court argument in order to win a temporary injunction.
Under the 2012 revised PIP law, persons injured in motor vehicle accidents are required to receive initial treatment and care within 14 days from specified providers to be eligible for no fault benefits. Up to $10,000 in medical benefits is available for emergency medical conditions and up to $2,500 in medical benefits is available for non-emergency medical conditions. Acupuncture and massage therapy are no longer covered benefits available under PIP.
Insurers pushed the changes arguing that the PIP system was riddled with fraud and that it needed to be altered to prevent insurers from having to pay for unnecessary health care stemming from staged automobile accidents.
Lewis noted that over the years state and federal governments have tinkered with the public’s access to the court and that the no fault law passed in 1971 "is just one example of this experiment in socialism and the trend away from those libertarian principles of individual liberty and personal responsibility."
While the no fault program changed over the years and was challenged, Lewis noted, the Supreme Court has ruled that it still was a "reasonable alternative" to the right to redress injury in court.
While the Supreme Court never defined "reasonable alternative," Lewis relied on a dissenting opinion in Chapman v. Dillion in which Justice Alan Sundberg felt changes to the PIP legislation had made the law "perilously close to the outer limits of constitutional tolerance."
Lewis said the question is whether the 2012 law with its restrictions passes beyond the "outer limits of constitutional tolerance."
"I believe it does," he wrote, noting that the policy limits for PIP still are $10,000, but that the 2012 law "severely limits what can be recovered under the policy."
"Is the no fault law still a good deal? Is it still a reasonable alternative to (constitutional) rights? .... The answer to those questions is probably, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder and reasonable people may disagree," Lewis wrote. "From my perspective, however, the revisions to the law make it no longer the 'reasonable alternative" that the Supreme Court found it to be. ...”
The St. Augustine Record Below: "Any appeal acts as a hold on Lewis' order" March 21, 2013.
Judge orders temporary ban on part of PIP law
Posted: March 21, 2013 - 7:51am
TALLAHASSEE (AP) — A Tallahassee judge has signaled that changes to Florida's Personal Injury Protection law may be unconstitutional and ordered a temporary ban on enforcing some of its parts.
Circuit Judge Terry Lewis suspended parts of PIP that require a finding of emergency medical condition and prohibit payments to acupuncturists, massage therapists and chiropractors. He said the law violates the right of access to the courts found in the Florida Constitution.
Lewis signed the order last Friday but it was released Wednesday. The state's Office of Insurance Regulation said it is appealing, and any appeal acts as a hold on Lewis' order.
Lawmakers passed PIP — or no-fault — coverage in the early 1970s to ensure that anyone hurt in an automobile wreck could obtain medical treatment without delay, while waiting for a case to be resolved.
Lewis' order granting in part a motion for temporary injunction says "(t)he fundamental right to seek redress for injuries received at the hands of another is a cornerstone of our legal system," and free access to the courts and the administration of justice is enshrined in the state constitution.
Over the years, however, state and federal lawmakers have "tinkered with these fundamental principles," said Lewis, adding the PIP law is an "example of this experiment with socialism and the trend away from those libertarian principles of individual liberty and personal responsibility."
Lewis quickly noted he was using "the popular, if somewhat inaccurate meaning" of socialism: "Any law that intrudes significantly into the free market arena with government mandates, e.g. socialized medicine."
The PIP law was a trade-off that provided a "reasonable alternative" to the courts, Lewis wrote.
"The question raised in this case ... is whether the revised no-fault law passes beyond these `outer limits of constitutional tolerance,'" he said, quoting another judge. "I conclude that it does ... (It) now severely limits what can be recovered."
The law provides that a driver's insurance company pay up to $10,000 to cover medical bills and lost wages after an accident, no matter who's at fault. All Florida drivers are required to carry PIP insurance.
Over the years, however, authorities have voiced concern that Florida has become a leading state for staged accidents, especially in the Tampa and Miami-Dade metropolitan areas, by those intent on filing bogus PIP claims.
Last year, Gov. Rick Scott made an overhaul bill (HB 119) a cornerstone of his legislative agenda, saying it would help tamp down millions of dollars in PIP fraud. Acupuncture practitioners, massage therapists and chiropractors — angry at being cut out of PIP payments — eventually filed suit.
The changes also limited coverage for medical treatment to $2,500 if an injured person could not show an emergency medical condition.
ORLANDO SENTINEL ARTICLE
ORLANDO SENTINEL ARTICLE
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Court temporarily strikes part of PIP law
TALLAHASSEE — A Tallahassee judge has temporarily banned part of a massive auto insurance overhaul passed by the Legislature in an attempt to drive down personal injury protection rates.
Circuit Judge Terry Lewis issued the ban on a part of the law that banned any payments to massage therapists, acupuncturists or chiropractors as well as the requirement that accident victims get a doctor’s certification that an “emergency medical condition” exists for the full $10,000 PIP coverage.
The Office of Insurance Regulation said it intends to file an appeal by the end of the week.
Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, the Senate architect of the plan, said that the Senate still needed to review the opinion, but noted that it may be time to rid the state of the entire no-fault auto insurance policy.
Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, floated that idea a few months ago, but it has not been discussed since. Negron said this ruling may bring back that debate.
Though it is already two and half weeks into the legislative session and no bill has been filed, Negron said that he felt it was “early” and that they had time to address the issue.
Read Lewis’ PIP Temporary Injunction.
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SunSentinel Article:
Court blocks part of 2012 PIP overhaul
TALLAHASSEE – A Tallahassee judge Wednesday struck down a massive overhaul to the auto insurance system that was designed to drive down Personal Injury Protection rates, leading the architect of the plan to say it may be time to "ditch" the entire no-fault system.
Circuit Judge Terry Lewis ruled that the reforms that banned PIP payments to acupuncturists and massage therapists and said an "emergency medical condition" must be proven for an accident victim to receive the full $10,000 of the coverage, did not pass constitutional muster because they did not adequately compensate drivers for giving up their right to sue.
"Is the no-fault law still a good deal?" asked Lewis in a seven-page opinion. "Is it still a reasonable alternative to the rights guaranteed to citizens [to sue in court for damages]? The answer to these questions is probably, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder. And reasonable people may disagree."
Under the changes, which took effect Jan. 1, victims had to seek treatment within 14 days after an accident and get a physician's certification of their "emergency medical condition" to receive the full $10,000 worth of treatment reimbursable under PIP. The law banned payments to acupuncturists and massage therapists and limited chiropractors' fees in most cases to $2,500.Last spring, lawmakers urged on by Gov. Rick Scott and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, passed a massive overhaul of PIP, which pays up to $10,000 in medical care for accident victims regardless of who is at fault. The reforms were intended to drive down soaring costs for the compulsory coverage that auto insurers attributed to massive fraud.
In return, insurers were required to drop their PIP rates by 25 percent by January 2014 or explain why they can't. An independent analysis of the law said that this rate change was possible, but it was likely that insurers would increase the costs of other coverages.
Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who was a sponsor of the reforms, said the Senate must analyze the opinion, but added that it may be time to get rid of PIP, a key component of the state's 40-year-old no-fault system.
Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, floated that idea a few months ago, suggesting instead that drivers be required to carry only bodily injury coverage. That requirement – a throwback to Florida's former tort system – would allow motorists to sue a driver who caused an accident. But it would not cover injuries to the at-fault driver.
"Those are options," Negron said.
But, he added, "we're certainly not going to make final decisions based on a temporary injunction."
The Office of Insurance Regulation said it plans to file an appeal by Friday.
Michael Carlson, executive director for the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, a lobbying group for several large insurers, said the ruling was a "setback."
"We hope that OIR will prevail in its planned appeal and that these reforms will be allowed to work to lower PIP premiums in Florida," he said in an email.
khaughney@tribune.com or 850-224-6214
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Posted on Wednesday, 03.20.13
Posted on Wednesday, 03.20.13
MIAMI HERALD ARTICLE:
Judge orders temporary ban on part of Fla. PIP law
Related Content
BY JAMES L. ROSICA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Tallahassee judge has signaled that changes to Florida's Personal Injury Protection law may be unconstitutional and ordered a temporary ban on enforcing some of its parts.
Circuit Judge Terry Lewis suspended parts of PIP that require a finding of emergency medical condition and prohibit payments to acupuncturists, massage therapists and chiropractors. He said the law violates the right of access to the courts found in the Florida Constitution.
Lewis signed the order last Friday but it was released Wednesday. The state's Office of Insurance Regulation said it is appealing, and any appeal acts as a hold on Lewis' order.
Lawmakers passed PIP - or no-fault - coverage in the early 1970s to ensure that anyone hurt in an automobile wreck could obtain medical treatment without delay, while waiting for a case to be resolved.
Lewis' order granting in part a motion for temporary injunction says "(t)he fundamental right to seek redress for injuries received at the hands of another is a cornerstone of our legal system," and free access to the courts and the administration of justice is enshrined in the state constitution.
Over the years, however, state and federal lawmakers have "tinkered with these fundamental principles," said Lewis, adding the PIP law is an "example of this experiment with socialism and the trend away from those libertarian principles of individual liberty and personal responsibility."
Lewis quickly noted he was using "the popular, if somewhat inaccurate meaning" of socialism: "Any law that intrudes significantly into the free market arena with government mandates, e.g. socialized medicine."
The PIP law was a trade-off that provided a "reasonable alternative" to the courts, Lewis wrote.
"The question raised in this case ... is whether the revised no-fault law passes beyond these 'outer limits of constitutional tolerance,'" he said, quoting another judge. "I conclude that it does ... (It) now severely limits what can be recovered."
The law provides that a driver's insurance company pay up to $10,000 to cover medical bills and lost wages after an accident, no matter who's at fault. All Florida drivers are required to carry PIP insurance.
Over the years, however, authorities have voiced concern that Florida has become a leading state for staged accidents, especially in the Tampa and Miami-Dade metropolitan areas, by those intent on filing bogus PIP claims.
Last year, Gov. Rick Scott made an overhaul bill (HB 119) a cornerstone of his legislative agenda, saying it would help tamp down millions of dollars in PIP fraud. Acupuncture practitioners, massage therapists and chiropractors - angry at being cut out of PIP payments - eventually filed suit.
The changes also limited coverage for medical treatment to $2,500 if an injured person could not show an emergency medical condition.
Follow James L. Rosica on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jlrosica
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