On fixing no-fault, no excuses
By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published September 4, 2007
With new proposals circulating in both the Florida House and Senate, lawmakers have no excuse to let the no-fault automobile insurance law expire and chaos ensue.
If lawmakers have any doubt about their obligations, they need only look at the growing confusion and alarm among motorists in the state. With the law set to expire Oct. 1, motorists are being dropped into the middle of what amounts to a legislative-sponsored demolition derby.
Will they need new insurance coverage to replace "personal injury protection"? Should that coverage be for bodily injury or for medical payments or for uninsured motorists? Can they expect their health insurance rates to go up because PIP is gone? Can they expect to be hiring an attorney the next time they're in an accident?
These concerns may pale by comparison to the uncertainty created by the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. In the span of a month, it has told motorists it will no longer enforce any requirement for automotive insurance only to announce that it was wrong. It will monitor property damage liability, but then maybe not the same way as with PIP.
What lawmakers are beginning to see is the chaos they would create by eliminating PIP with no safety net for hospital emergency rooms, no clear alternatives for responsible motorists and no formal direction as to whether any other insurance would still be required.
With a special session on the state budget set for Sept. 18, lawmakers now have two proposals on the table that aim to keep and reform PIP. One, from Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, would make sure that most of the hospital and doctors' office coverage remains and that attorney fees in disputed cases are capped. The other, from Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, would set a fee schedule for hospitals and doctors so they don't charge full rates and would provide coverage at clinics only if they are owned by licensed physicians.
Most of the PIP abuse has come from clinics, which is one reason the attempt to impose fee schedules on attorneys and hospitals has been a sticking point. But both sides ought to be willing to compromise if the fee restraints are reasonable ones. For example, capping hospital charges for emergency services might be a fair tradeoff for increasing the coverage cap, $10,000, which hasn't changed in 36 years.
The special session is intended to focus on the state's budget shortfall, and it should. But Bogdanoff and Posey have created the framework for a compromise on no-fault auto insurance. Given some time and encouragement over the next few weeks, they may be able to help lawmakers find common ground and keep PIP from expiring.
Motorists, and the hospital emergency rooms that often save their lives, need that protection.