Florida Senate - 2019                             CS for SB 1518
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senators Wright, Book,
       and Cruz
       
       
       
       
       588-03686-19                                          20191518c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to alternative treatment options for
    3         veterans; creating s. 295.156, F.S.; providing
    4         definitions; specifying eligibility to receive
    5         alternative treatment; authorizing the Department of
    6         Veterans’ Affairs, subject to appropriation, to
    7         contract with a state university or Florida College
    8         System institution to enter into and manage contracts
    9         for the provision of alternative treatment options for
   10         certain veterans; providing requirements as to the
   11         provision of alternative treatment options and related
   12         assessment data; requiring the department to annually
   13         prepare a report for submission to the Governor and
   14         Legislature; prescribing report requirements;
   15         authorizing the department to adopt rules; providing
   16         an effective date.
   17          
   18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   19  
   20         Section 1. Section 295.156, Florida Statutes, is created to
   21  read:
   22         295.156Alternative treatment options for veterans.—
   23         (1)As used in this section, the term:
   24         (a)“Accelerated resolution therapy” means a process that
   25  replaces negative images and sensations with positive ones, uses
   26  specific eye movements in conjunction with controlled
   27  verbalization about details of the prior traumatic experience,
   28  and uses metaphors and other interventions to assist the patient
   29  in recalling less distressing images while retaining the facts
   30  of the original experience.
   31         (b)“Alternative treatment” means a treatment that is not
   32  part of the standard of medical care established by the United
   33  States Department of Veterans Affairs for treating traumatic
   34  brain injury or posttraumatic stress disorder but has been shown
   35  by at least one scientific or medical peer-reviewed study to
   36  have some positive effect for the treatment of traumatic brain
   37  injury or posttraumatic stress disorder.
   38         (c)“Equine therapy” means the use of interaction with
   39  horses under the supervision of a trained equine instructor to
   40  improve the patient’s sense of trust and self-efficiency;
   41  increase communication, socialization, and emotional management
   42  skills; and decrease isolation.
   43         (d) “Facility” includes a hospital, a public health clinic,
   44  an outpatient health clinic, a community health center, and any
   45  other facility authorized under Department of Veterans’ Affairs
   46  rule to provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy under this section.
   47         (e) “Health care practitioner” means a person who is
   48  licensed to provide medical care or other health care in this
   49  state and who has prescriptive authority, including a physician.
   50         (f)“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy” means a medical treatment,
   51  provided at a facility in compliance with applicable state fire
   52  codes, which is used in the prevention, treatment, or cure of a
   53  disease or a condition in human beings by delivering a
   54  saturation of 100 percent oxygen in a mono-place or multi-place
   55  hyperbaric chamber or a total body chamber approved by the
   56  United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or in a device
   57  that has an appropriate FDA-approved investigational device
   58  exemption, in which atmospheric pressure is increased and
   59  controlled.
   60         (g)“Music therapy” means the use of music listening or
   61  performance to address the patient’s physical, emotional,
   62  cognitive, and social needs and to facilitate communication and
   63  expression.
   64         (h) “Physician” means a person licensed to practice
   65  medicine under chapter 458 or chapter 459.
   66         (i)“Service animal training therapy” means a technique
   67  that allows the patient to work directly with an animal trainer
   68  to train animals as therapy or service animals.
   69         (j)“Traumatic brain injury” means an acquired injury to
   70  the brain. The term does not include brain dysfunction caused by
   71  congenital or degenerative disorders or birth trauma.
   72         (k) “Veteran” means an individual who has served in any of
   73  the following:
   74         1.The United States Armed Forces, including the United
   75  States Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps.
   76         2.The Florida National Guard.
   77         3.A reserve component of the United States Armed Forces.
   78         (2) A veteran qualifies to receive alternative treatment
   79  under this section if he or she:
   80         (a)Has been diagnosed by a health care practitioner with
   81  service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder or a traumatic
   82  brain injury;
   83         (b)Voluntarily agrees to such alternative treatment; and
   84         (c) Can demonstrate that he or she has previously sought
   85  services for a posttraumatic stress disorder or a traumatic
   86  brain injury through the federal Veterans Affairs service
   87  delivery system or through private health insurance, if such
   88  coverage is available to the veteran.
   89         (3)Subject to legislative appropriation, the Department of
   90  Veterans’ Affairs may contract with one state university or
   91  Florida College System institution to enter into and to manage
   92  multiple licensed provider contracts to provide the alternative
   93  treatment options specified in paragraphs (a) through (e) to
   94  veterans who have been certified by the United States Department
   95  of Veterans Affairs or by any branch of the United States Armed
   96  Forces as having a traumatic brain injury or posttraumatic
   97  stress disorder. The university or institution shall manage,
   98  monitor, and ensure the compliance of contracted providers who
   99  provide any of the following alternative treatment options:
  100         (a)Accelerated resolution therapy.
  101         (b)Equine therapy.
  102         (c)Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which must be provided at a
  103  registered hyperbaric oxygen facility.
  104         (d)Music therapy.
  105         (e)Service animal training therapy.
  106         (4)(a) The provision of alternative treatment must be under
  107  the direction and supervision of an individual licensed under
  108  chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, chapter 490, or chapter
  109  491.
  110         (b) The supervising licensed provider must agree to
  111  cooperate with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to provide
  112  data sufficient to assess the efficacy of alternative treatment
  113  modalities.
  114         (5)By January 1 of each year, beginning in 2020, the
  115  Department of Veterans’ Affairs shall prepare a report detailing
  116  each alternative treatment provided pursuant to this section,
  117  the provider type, the number of veterans served, and the
  118  treatment outcomes, which it shall submit to the Governor, the
  119  President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
  120  Representatives.
  121         (6)The Department of Veterans’ Affairs may adopt rules to
  122  implement this section.
  123         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.